The Mistletoe Project
by 2brown-eyes
Summary: When the school-labeled dork wears a Santa's hat with mistletoe that says 'kiss me' to school; one girl does just that in front of the whole cafeteria. She has seen past his label and wants the rest of the school to too. But, what if there is more to it than she thought? Submission to the Mistletoe Contest.
1. Chapter 1

Submission to the Mistletoe Contest.

Thank you for Emergency Beta Service for cleaning this story up.

Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

**The Mistletoe Project**

The school cafeteria buzzed around me as I read _A Christmas Carol_ by Charles Dickens. I tried to ignore all the gossiping that was going on around me. I couldn't wait until the year was over, and I was out of here. I had moved to Forks, Washington at the beginning of the year hoping things might be different in a small town, but they weren't—this school was also filled with the typical cliques. I was hoping to get to know people for who they were at my new school. However, since I was new, everyone wanted to be my friend. I quickly found out that some weren't as genuine as they pretended to be.

The biggest new 'friend' was Tanya Cullen, Queen Bee. I suspected she was jealous that I was getting all the attention from being the new girl. It didn't matter that I didn't ask for any of the attention—just that I was getting noticed.

When I didn't bend over to kiss her ass like the rest of the school, she had decided that we needed to be BFF's—or maybe it was more like frenemies. The more I tried to ignore her and avoid her, the more she seemed to latch on. She had made it difficult for me to make any real friends.

"Oh-em-gee. How can he do this to me?" Tanya whined as she tossed her strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder before she ducked her head, and tried to hide behind her manicured hand.

I barely glanced in her direction. I didn't want to find out what was bothering her this time it was always something with her. Last week it was because she forgot that she had a paper due, and the teacher didn't give her an extension, or the time the soda machine was out of diet cola. I continued to read, hoping to avoid her latest drama.

"He's a freak. He shouldn't even be allowed at this school," Jessica, or, as I liked to call her, 'Puppet One', responded as she popped her bubble gum loudly.

"Don't worry, Tanya. Most people don't know that you two are related." Puppet Two, Lauren, soothed Tanya by patting her arm. "Would you like me to get you a diet soda?"

Tanya waved her off.

When I realized who they were talking about I glanced around the cafeteria to look for her sweetheart of a cousin, who she was always complaining about. I found him immediately; Anthony Cullen was walking across the cafeteria dressed normally for him. His pants were too short so that his red socks were visible, and he had a dark green button down shirt with a red bow tie. His bronze hair was in a chaotic mess with thick framed glasses around his deep, green eyes. The only thing different from any other day was the Santa hat that extended a sprig of mistletoe just above his forehead. On the front of the hat it read 'Kiss me'. The only way to describe him was adorkable.

Anthony had arrived at the school at the beginning of December. Unlike me, he quickly became an outcast after the other students dubbed him a nerd. I would bet money on it that it had been Tanya's doing. I thought that Anthony was shy, sweet, and rather cute. On the several occasions that we've talked, his intelligence had impressed me. I always found myself interested in what he had to say, compared to the rest of the student body.

He greeted a few girls with a crooked smile, but they just giggled and quickly walked away from him as they whispered with their heads together. Instead of looking rejected, he smiled and moved on to the table where he usually sat alone.

"How desperate can he be?" Mike Newton scoffed. He put his foot on the table, right next to my tray of food then rested his arms on the top of his raised leg. His shoes were covered with mud and slush, which he was getting on the table, only making me more repulsed.

"I know, right? Completely desperate." Puppet One agreed quickly with him with a nod of her overly-permed head as she batted her eyes flirtatiously.

He tossed her a grin and she giggled annoyingly. I rolled my eyes, aggravated. Mike was like a fly that I couldn't shoo away.

"Mike, can you remove your shoe, please? I'm not really into sole food," I asked politely, wrinkling my nose. He laughed, like a braying donkey, but I found the situation far from amusing.

"Sole food… that's a great one." Mike removed his foot from the table; however, he chose to sit down in the seat next to me.

I grabbed a napkin and wiped the mess that Mike left behind. I balled the napkin up and left it on the table.

"I don't get it." Jessica scowled at me for stealing Mike's attention. Her arms were crossed in front of her resting on the table.

Tanya rolled her eyes. "Sole as in a shoe sole." She tapped her fingers on her tray. "Bella's a comedian now." She smiled as she tilted her head to the side, but she didn't seem pleased.

I looked away from the table with a sigh. I glanced at Anthony, who was still sitting alone with a book. A few kids from the tables around him were whispering and looking towards him. I was appalled because he was a sweet guy and didn't deserve to be ridiculed for being different. He glanced around, no longer looking happy as he realized that he was the focus of everyone's laughter. I caught the gaze of his dark green eyes and smiled warmly at him. His lips twitched upward slightly before he ducked his head. I would love to join him, but the last time I did that, Tanya followed me with her puppets. They harassed him the entire lunch, and I felt guilty since I should've known that I would be followed by the vipers. Nothing that I said in his defense had made the situation better— only worse.

"So, Bella, how about it?" Mike waved his hand in front of my face. I fought the urge to swat it.

"How about what?" I glanced back at him in irritation. His smile faltered a bit then he tried to force a bigger smile. If he was trying to be charming, he was failing miserably.

"Me and you. The semi-formal." He gestured back and forth between us with his pointer finger. The way he had implied it indicated it wasn't the first time he had asked me.

"I don't…" I started about to turn him down as politely as I could muster, but Tanya interrupted as she answered for me.

"She'd love to," she said, batting her blue eyes, and smiled widely to him.

"Sweet." He winked at me before walking away with a swagger.

"Wait…" I tried to call after him, but he was already at another table talking to Tyler Crowley. I turned back to Tanya, who still had a wide, false grin on her face. "What did you do that for? I can answer for myself, you know. I don't want to go to the dance with Mike." I glared at Tanya.

"Are you dumb?" The statement was so ironic coming from Jessica that I almost started to laugh.

"Seriously, Bella, when the hottest and most popular guy at school asks you out, you say yes, not no. Surely, even in Phoenix they knew that." Tanya tossed her hair over her shoulder as she lectured me.

"Being popular shouldn't be a reason to date a person. It should be the person that they are. If you like Mike so much, you go with him, or, Jessica, why don't you? I don't think I'm going to go, and even if I did I'd rather go with someone else." I got up and collected my trash. I decided to head to class early, so I slipped my book into my bag before zipping it up. I made a mental note to just go to the library during lunch in the future.

"Who?" Tanya looked incredulous. She scanned the cafeteria, filled with other students. She suddenly honed in on her cousin. "Tell me that I'm wrong and it's not him. You can't do that; it would be social suicide. Do you know how that will make me look?" Tanya whined. She looked like someone told her the world was ending.

"Get over yourself, Tanya. Not everything is about you. If you actually talked with your cousin, you would know that he's a very nice, and a very intelligent guy; that doesn't make him a horrible person." Her mouth dropped opened. I doubted that anyone had spoken to her that way before. Lauren gave me a hateful look before she angled her body towards Tanya.

"She doesn't mean that. You have every right to be upset. Anthony is a nuisance to society." Lauren consoled her by rubbing her arm.

I swear the girl had a thing for Tanya. I shook my head at her slight against Anthony; it made no sense to me. How could he be a nuisance to society? He might be a bit nerdy, but he was a great guy. He was far better than someone who was obnoxious, like Mike. In fact, the more I thought about him, the more I realized how much I liked Anthony.

I walked away from the table to dispose of my trash. Just as I got to the trashcan, there was a loud clatter from a tray hitting the floor. I looked up, and Mike was standing in front of a red-faced Anthony.

"Oops, didn't see you there, Arthur." Mike smirked condescendingly at him.

"My name is Anthony." Anthony pushed his glasses up his nose to keep them from slipping off his face. He glared back at Mike, who seemed to find it amusing.

"Sorry, again." Mike shrugged. Anthony sighed then quickly bobbed his head in confirmation before he bent down to pick up the dropped tray. Mike kicked it away from him, causing more things to scatter across the floor. "Oops, I guess I'm clumsy today." Mike snickered.

What an asshole. Where was the teacher in charge of the cafeteria? I glanced around, and the teacher on duty was absorbed with something on his laptop, completely oblivious. I would intercede, but with someone like Mike, it would only make things worse for Anthony if he was defended by a girl.

Mike turned and spotted me. He glanced back at Anthony and smirked before he looked at me again. He was going to try and make things worse, just as I had guessed.

"Hey, Bella, so what time should I get you for the dance?" Mike grinned at me. Anthony stiffened, then seemed to move faster.

"I'm not going to the dance with you," I answered for myself this time. Anthony paused in the middle of grabbing a spoon. He glanced up, raising his head slightly.

"You said you would just a few minutes ago." Mike scowled at me.

"No, Tanya said that I would. I never said that. I don't date jackasses," I pointed out with a shrug not caring to be polite, not after how he treated Anthony. I heard Anthony snicker quietly. Mike glared down at him and kicked the tray a second time. Since Anthony's hand was on it, didn't go far this time. Mike glowered before turning back to me.

"Bitch," he sneered before stalking away in a huff.

I bent down to pick up an apple that had hit my feet. "Would you like some help?" I offered as I picked up a napkin and tossed both things onto the tray.

"No, I think I've got it all. Thank you, Bella." Anthony pushed his glasses up his nose before he stood up. I stood as well, then waited as he dumped his tray. Up close, I could see that there were small Christmas trees on his bow tie. My eyes drifted to his hat that had been knocked slightly askew.

"Great hat, by the way. Any takers?" I asked with a smile. He touched the top of his head as if to check that it was still there. He straightened it so that it sat better on his head.

"Thanks and no. Not unless you count Mrs. Cope. But I hadn't." He blushed slightly, looking nervous.

"Well, allow me to change that." Moving closer to him, I raised up on to my tip-toes and pressed my lips to his. I had meant for it to be a simple, quick peck, but the instant my lips touched his, it was as if a surge of desire and longing had hit me. A simple kiss wasn't enough. I craved to be closer to him. His soft, smooth lips were frozen against mine at first, but then he started to kiss me back. Damn, the boy knew how to kiss. My hands rested against his chest to balance myself, and I was surprised to find how firm his abs were underneath his baggy shirt.

I ignored the hoots and the cheers from the cafeteria and deepened the kiss as I pressed myself against him. I felt his bulge in his pants press against me, and I let out a small moan. His chest rumbled with a low growl as he grew bolder; his hands slipped to my ass, and he licked my bottom lip. Before I could open my mouth, someone cleared their throat loudly. We pulled apart, both breathing heavily and blushing. His glasses had been knocked slightly askew. I had to stop myself from reaching over to fix them. Most of the students in the cafeteria were clapping and whistling at our public display.

"I'm only going to remind you once that the school has a PDA policy. Next time, it will be detention," Mr. Hines, the school counselor, warned us with a stern look. Where was he a few minutes ago when Anthony was getting bullied?

"Yes, sir," I mumbled.

Anthony just nodded as he shifted his bag in front of him. I glanced down and noticed what he was trying to hide. I blushed and looked away feeling mortified for him since the entire cafeteria was still watching us. Tanya looked furious, to the point I was surprised steam didn't come out of her ears. Jessica's mouth was opened wide, and her eyes bulged like a fish. Lauren once again was petting Tanya's arm trying to calm her. Mike looked disgusted and frozen in his spot by his table. At least, most of the rest of the students appeared happy or amused by the scene.

"Come on." I grabbed his hand and pulled him along, careful to walk in front of him to help shield his front. I pulled him out of the cafeteria, down the senior hallway, and into the alcove by the soda machines.

**MP**

We stood there as we looked at one another silently for a moment. His glasses were still crooked, so I reached up and fixed them myself, with him watching me wordlessly.

"I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean to get carried away," I apologized to him dropping my hand to my side. I looked up into his hooded green eyes that appeared to be full of questions. He glanced down at our still joined hands; our fingers were laced together snugly. I let go of his hand and missed the warmth, the instant I had let it go.

"That's okay; it wasn't just you. But why did you kiss me?" He still looked puzzled.

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Now I was confused. Who wears a 'kiss me' hat with mistletoe and not expect to get kissed? Or was it me personally?

"I guess, I didn't really expect anyone to. I was just wondering why you did." Anthony looked down at me. He looked confused and uncertain. My guess was that he had been an outcast long enough that even he had started to doubt himself. I wanted to prove to him that the other students were wrong. There was nothing wrong with him.

Feeling bold, I reached up and kissed him again. Once again, the passion ignited between us. This time, his lips moved against mine almost immediately. I found myself pressed against the side of the soda machine and his very alert body as he leaned into me. The hum of the machine vibrated against my body. His hips bucked forward, causing his body to rub against mine. He let out a small growl. I wanted nothing more than to wrap myself around him. I moaned as I reached up, and tugged his soft, thick hair, knocking the hat off of his head.

I pulled away breathless before we got into trouble again or that I pushed him too far. My chest heaved up against his as we caught our breath. I noticed his eyes drifted down to my chest. He quickly bent down to grab his hat then backed away. I touched my still tingling lips with my fingertips.

"I kissed you because I wanted to," I explained with a shy smile; it fell when he frowned back at me. He had to have felt what I did; didn't he?

"So your boyfriend and Tanya didn't put you up to this," he questioned cautiously.

"First, I don't have a boyfriend; I wouldn't have kiss you if I did. I'm not that type of girl. If you're talking about Mike, I can barely stand him so I would never date him. Second, no. Tanya had nothing to do with it." I sighed in defeat, trying to remind myself not to get offended by his response, since it seemed like the whole situation was new to him.

"I like you, Anthony, and I wanted to do it because you're sweet, nice, and an intelligent guy. It's just a shame that the rest of the school is too blind to see it." I felt myself blush as I admitted my feelings to him. He still didn't look quite convinced. Not that I blame him he's been bullied for so long that he was probably skeptical when someone was nice to him. I spotted a blue flyer with snowflakes on it behind him. It made me think about something that could, hopefully, prove it. "Will you go with me to the semi-formal?"

"You want to go to the semi-formal with me?" He said it slowly, like I had given him a complex physics problem, and he pointed to himself.

I nodded. "That's what I asked. We could have a lot of fun together." I fidgeted with the strap of my bag nervously as I waited for him to answer. I didn't know why I was trying so hard since I hated dances.

"I'll have to think about it," he blurted out. He glanced around and pushed his glasses up his nose. My smile dropped as my stomach did a flip-flop.

"Oh… oh, okay." I bit my lip trying not to feel rejected for putting myself out there. My heart thudded unevenly and I felt slightly sick.

The bell rang, and he fled, leaving me in the hallway alone, staring after him until it filled with students getting to the next class.

**MP**

At the end of the day, there was a mass exodus of kids trying to leave. Everyone seemed excited that there were only a few days before the holiday break. I had stayed late to put the finishing touches on an article for the school paper. The school seemed deserted when I left.

Outside, the air was bitter cold, and I pulled my coat closed and zipped it up. I glanced up at the sky. It was dark gray and looked like we might get some snow. Before I went to my truck, I spotted Anthony across the almost empty parking lot leaning up against his Volvo.

I paused for a moment until I got the courage to go talk to him before heading home to cook dinner for my father. Anthony had his phone pressed to his ear, and his back was to me. I stopped to wait for him to be done. While I waited, I couldn't help but hear what he was saying.

"Project Mistletoe was a success. _pause_ One. _pause_ Actually, it was interesting, I'm trying to figure out what she is going to do next." I was confused, was he talking about me?

"I can't decide if she just pitied Anthony or if she is setting him up for something bigger to embarrass the guy at the school semi-formal."

I burned with raged since I had never been so insulted. How could he think that I would do something like that?

"Or maybe, she was being honest and truly liked the guy and wanted to show that to the rest of the school." I interrupted him by speaking up. He whirled around, and I was caught off-guard that he wasn't wearing glasses. His green eyes scrutinized me as he pulled his phone from his ear and shoved it into his pocket.

"So it was pity." He scowled at me. Either he didn't hear me, or just didn't believe me.

"Weren't you listening to me? It wasn't pity. But, does it even matter? Was this just all some game to you? Is your name even Anthony, or do you like referring to yourself in the third person?" I demanded, starting to feel like I had been tricked.

"My name is Edward Cullen," he answered. So I assumed that meant he was still related to Tanya. So she had to know that she didn't have a cousin Anthony and that he was really this Edward guy. Or maybe this was all her idea.

I crossed my arms in front of my chest. "So tell me, Edward, was all this a plot of yours and Tanya's to make a fool out of me in front of the school? All because when I first got here I didn't bend over and kiss her ass like everyone else? Why would I, when she is no different than…" I stopped, realizing I was giving him too much information to give to Tanya.

"Go on," Anthony, or I guess Edward, prompted.

I shook my head before turning away, fighting the tears of anger and frustration that came to my eyes. I tried taking a deep breath and squeezed my eyes shut.

"Are you crying?" His voice was softer and sounded more apologetic. My eyes snapped back open, and I turned back to him. He was watching me, no longer looking irritated, but concerned and ashamed.

"No, I'm pissed off. I thought you were this sweet and nice guy. I thought I could actually like you, but you're a fraud and I'm just a big fool," I said through clenched teeth as I glared at him. I wiped the tears angrily away. He was looking contrite and ran his hand through his hair. He opened and closed his mouth, seemingly frustrated as he tugged on his hair, making it look wild.

Finally, he spoke in a calmer voice to me. "It's not what you think. I'm not working with Tanya. I was definitely not trying to set you up. I thought you might be working with Tanya, to set Anthony up for embarrassment, since she hates the guy so much," Edward started to explain.

"I wouldn't ever do something like that to someone," I responded defensively. He studied me with his eyes appraisingly for a moment. Though what did it say of Tanya, that we both thought so poorly of her.

"No, you wouldn't," he admitted, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "I owe you an apology."

"You can start by telling me about this project that I heard you talking about. If it wasn't about me, I want to know what it was about." I met his eyes holding his stare.

"I can't…" He shook his head and took a backward step.

I huffed in irritation when he refused to tell me. "Fine, I'm out of here." I turned and headed for my truck.

"Wait, I'll tell you, but you can't tell anyone else." He reached out and touched my arm sending sparks up it. I shook him off as my mind started to cloud up. I wasn't going to allow him to distract me.

"Is it illegal? My father is the Chief of Police, and I will tell him," I threatened before I turned back to face him.

"It isn't illegal. Mr. Hines and Principal Greene know why I'm here. Which is why we didn't get a detention earlier. I'm a senior at U-Dub. Myself and two of my friends are working on a project about the stereotypical social patterns of high school students interacting with their peers.

One of my friends went back to school as the stereotypical high school jock. The other went to another school as a stereotypical skater boy. Obviously, I was the stereotypical nerd. We wanted to see what the results would be if all three of these stereotypes wore hats with mistletoe to school. I hypothesized that the nerd would receive little to no kisses. Any kisses he did receive would've been out of pity," he explained.

"That is so wrong. You believe just because someone who tends to be, by your definition, a nerd, means a girl couldn't like him? And if she did kiss him that it could only be out of pity?" I took a backward step and shook my head in disappointment.

"It's funny," I continued. "Anthony seemed like an intelligent guy, but Edward— not so much. The irony of your project is evident. You are so sure that everything has to be stereotyped that you can't see another way being possible. The problem with stereotypes is you form opinions on a person without actually seeing them for who they really are. I kissed Anthony 'cause I liked him and felt a connection to him. It is as simple as that. No hidden motives, except I hoped that if I kissed him in front of everyone, they too would look past the stereotype, and get to know the great guy that he is. I guess, the joke is on me, because that great guy doesn't exist."

He watched me quietly, seemingly dumbfounded.

I turned and walked away. At some point during our conversation, it had started to snow. My truck had a very light dusting on it that would be easily taken care of by the wipers, so I opened my door to get in.

"Bella," he called from behind me.

"I won't tell anyone about your project," I promised him without turning back.

"Not that. I'm sorry that I hurt you. That was never the intent of this." He seemed to be sincere, but he had been lying since I met him and I didn't know how I could trust him. He tugged at his hair before he gave me a pleading look. "Look, if you still want to go to the dance, I will take you."

"I don't want your pity." I scoffed before I closed the door hard and drove off, leaving him standing there.

**MP**

**EPOV**

I watched as the taillights of her truck left the parking lot. I fucked up, and the guilt started to eat away at me. My phone rang and I pulled it out of my pocket to answer it.

"Yeah," I answered, still watching the spot she left from, the tracks in the snow were starting to get covered up.

"I think I lost you? I was waiting for you to call me back. Is everything okay," my friend, Jasper, asked, sounding annoyed.

"I had to hang up. The girl I was talking about overheard my end of the conversation," I explained as I kicked a small rock away. I opened my car door and got in.

"So how did that go?" He sounded intrigued.

"She was pissed, to say the least. I think I really hurt her feelings." I started my car and adjusted the heat.

"So it wasn't out of pity and she wasn't trying to embarrass you?" Jasper asked.

I was silent as I replayed everything in my mind. Her hurt brown eyes burned a hole in my mind. I didn't doubt that she was being sincere when she said that she actually liked Anthony. I had fucked up, and let my past screw with my assumptions.

"Ed-ward, are you there?" he called impatiently.

"She said that she liked me," I mumbled. "I've got to go." I hung up on him. I grabbed my glasses from the seat next to me and put them on. I picked up the hat from the passenger seat and tossed it into back seat not wanting to look at it at the moment. The windshield was covered in fluffy snow, so I pulled the lever to turn on the wipers to clear it off. I watched the wipers work, for a moment, before I took a deep breath, and shifted the car to drive.

I drove carefully to my parents' new house after discovering that the roads were slick and not sanded yet. I hoped Bella had made it home okay, her truck looked old and unsafe. I wished I had thought to follow her earlier.

My parents had moved here, by coincidence, last spring, which is why I chose Forks for my school. How Tanya didn't know she didn't have a cousin Anthony showed how self-absorbed she was. She will probably be relieved that Anthony will transfer to another school by next semester. In fact, there was no real reason for me to go back.

When I pulled up to the house, it was already lit up. I had helped my father decorate it for the holidays earlier last week at my mother's request with white lights around the trim and big wreaths with blue bows, everywhere. My parents were hosting a party in a couple of nights so they wanted everything to look perfect.

I parked next to my mother's car and entered the house through the garage. Immediately my nose was hit with aromas of baked goods and pine.

My mother had worked hard over the last few days to make the house look festive. Everywhere you looked it was decorated for Christmas, but yet, it was tasteful and not overdone. Soft instrumental Christmas music was playing in the background, adding to the atmosphere.

"Edward, is that you? We are in the kitchen, come join us," my mother called from the kitchen. I entered and stood in the doorway to watch them for a moment.

My mother was rolling out cookie dough at the counter and my father was sitting on a stool across from her, watching her. He tried to sneak a cookie but she slapped his hand away without even looking up.

I snickered, alerting them to my presence.

My mother looked up with a smile, but it quickly dropped. She put down her rolling pin and wiped her hands on her gingerbread printed apron as she headed over to me.

"What's wrong? I haven't seen you look like this since you were in high school. I knew this was a bad idea." She placed her hands on either side of my face as she looked at me worriedly. "Carlisle, drop that cookie, they are for our guests," she scolded him without turning around.

My father dropped the cookie again with a sheepish smile.

"Can't you see that your son is upset? What happened, do I need to call someone's parents? Was it Tanya? I swear, Eleazar and Carmen let her get away with too much as an only child when she was younger, and now they are paying for it." She clucked her tongue against her teeth.

"Esme, the boy is in college now. I doubt he wants you to call someone's parents." My father rolled his eyes in amusement.

She turned, placing one hand on her hip, and glared at him.

"He's right, Mom, besides, I'm the one who screwed up." I brushed the flour off my face. "I let my past catch up with me. When a girl actually had the guts to kiss me in front of the whole cafeteria, I accused her of not having good motives. I ended up hurting her feelings." I winced shamefully.

My mother eyed me appraisingly, while my father grinned hugely. "She kissed you in front of the whole cafeteria? Nice!"

My mother stood in front of me with her arms crossed. "What did you accuse the girl of? I'm assuming that you were wrong, whatever it was." I may be a mama's boy, but that didn't mean I got away with anything.

"I accused her of doing it out of pity, or that she was trying to set me up to embarrass me," I admitted with a sheepish shrug and rubbed the back of my head with my hand.

My mother was even more upset with me, now. "Oh, Edward, why would you think that?"

"Well, she kind of hung around Tanya, so I thought the worst." I explained. "But she never seemed like Tanya. She was always friendly to me. She would talk to me in class or in the hallways, all the time. She actually was usually the one to approach me most of the time. She even seemed interested in what I had to say. The last person who did that…"

My mother placed her hand on my cheek again to stop me.

"This girl isn't Maggie," she informed me in a calm, but stern voice.

"I know that. I think I had an involuntary reaction due to a sense of déjà vu. Bella claims, she kissed me because she actually liked me, well she actually liked Anthony. She thinks Edward is a jerk right now." I sighed heavily, turning down my eyes. I knew my mother would be disappointed in me and I had trouble facing her.

"Bella? As in Bella Swan?" She closed her eyes briefly and was frowning.

I glanced up in time to see her hide something that was in her eyes from me.

"Yes. Why? Am I missing something?" I asked, starting to feel worse. I knew my mother was a therapist that dealt with teenagers. Did she know something about Bella? I immediately thought of when Bella stopped abruptly during her rant.

"Nothing." She waved her hand dismissively. She headed back to her dough on the counter. "You'll apologize to her, right?" She picked up her rolling pin, and started rolling it across the dough. She left it as more of a command than a question.

"I did, but she didn't seem to want to hear it." I responded. "I even offered to take her to the semi-formal." I thought that would make things better, but I had to admit my experience in the area of girls was sorely lacking.

"You offered to take her to a high school semi-formal?" Dad looked up from playing absentmindedly with one of the bottles of colored sugar, used to decorate the cookies.

"Um, actually, she invited me after she kissed me for the second time," I mumbled.

My father started to shake with silent laughter. The bottle fell out of his hand, spilling some of the red sugar. I didn't think that this was that funny.

"Carlisle," Mom scolded him and snatched the bottle away from him. She wiped up the sugar, giving him a dirty look in the process.

"Come on, Esme. It's a little funny how someone so smart can be so dense. The girl kissed him not once but twice. Was it a quick peck or more?" He glanced at me.

My cheeks heated in admission. The kiss was the best I have ever had. I thought the term 'seeing fireworks' was cliché, but damn my body came alive during that kiss like never before.

"I thought so. So the kisses weren't so innocent. The girl asks him to the dance, and even tells him straight forward that she likes him. I don't see how much bigger of a sign he needed." He folded his hands in front of him.

"Carlisle, you remember what Maggie did in Chicago. It's not surprising he was so hesitant to believe her," my mother reminded him softly.

"Yes, but Maggie never kissed him on the lips or ever asked him out." My father pointed out.

"Seems to me, I remember a boy in college who was oblivious to a girl liking him since his nose was always stuck in a book. Sure, he would take the cookies she made for him. Eat the dinners she made for him. It took for her to surprise him with an oral project under the library desk, when he was studying for him to catch on. Like father, like son, I would say." She roughly cut out the dough with a Christmas tree cookie cutter.

My father's face turned bright red and looked sheepishly down at the table.

It didn't take long for me to catch on. "Whoa… did you forget I was standing here."

My mother turned her stare to me. "Edward, you're an adult now. Surely you know that your parents had more sex than when you were conceived." She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I want to hear about it." I shifted uncomfortably. "Besides, Bella is in high school and I'm in college. It's not like we could actually have that type of relationship."

"She's eighteen and you're twenty. Two years isn't that big of a deal," my mother pointed out, reminding me that I had graduated high school two years early.

"But still, she doesn't like me very much," I answered back.

My mother gave me a gentle smile. "She's mad at you right now. Once she has a chance to calm down, apologize to her again. She already told you that she likes you, and the best part is that she likes the part of you that you thought others wouldn't. And from what I can see, you like her. You're just afraid, but I think you should give it a chance. You two will give me beautiful grandbabies." Her smile lit her whole face now. She arranged the dough cutouts on the tray.

"Isn't it a little early to worry about that?" Surprised she seemed so sure of it.

"A mother always knows." She picked up her tray and placed it in the oven, closing it with a smug grin.

**MP**

**BPOV**

It had been a few days since the confrontation in the parking lot. Anthony…or I guess Edward, wasn't at school anymore, but since his project was done, there was probably no need for him to continue on with his farce.

Tanya was overjoyed that he was gone. The one plus for me was that she wasn't speaking to me, either. At least, some good came out of this.

As much as I was still upset that I had felt used, a part of me missed him. Which then upset me that I missed him. I doubt that he has given me a second thought after I left. It was all just a stupid project to him.

Tonight, I was going with my dad to the Cullen's for a holiday party. Charlie had to work on Christmas Eve, to make up for it, he insisted that I went with him. I was nervous, since I assumed that Edward was going to be there. I was conflicted on how I felt about him now. He probably had a beautiful girlfriend anyway who laughed when she heard how I fell for his project.

"Wow, they really go all out," Charlie mumbled.

We had followed a long driveway with trees decorated on either side making a lighted path. The house looked gorgeous decorated with white lights. The snow-covered roof was decorated with icicle lights and the windows and porch were outlined in lights. The wraparound porch also had several small wreaths along its sides. A few yards from the house, right by the pond they had set up deer, covered in white lights. You could see a Christmas tree decorated in blue and white through a large window. The house looked like it had fallen out of a Christmas movie.

Charlie's lights consisted of a strand of colored lights on the side of the roof facing the road. He didn't even like having a tree near a window. He said it would only tempt thieves.

He held on to my elbow, while I carried a pie that I had made, up the front stairs. The sign on the door invited us to come inside without knocking, so we entered and stopped near the doorway looking around us. Charlie let out a low whistle.

The inside was stunning. I've only seen things like it in magazines. There was even a fire in the fireplace with red velvet stockings hanging, each one with a name neatly embroidered on it in gold thread. On the mantle, there was an evergreen bough with red berries and white lights. From inside the house, the Christmas tree looked even more beautiful. Closer up, you could see crystal ornaments that caught the light with a delicate-looking angel on top. I made the decision to stay away from the tree since I was clumsy.

On top of an entertainment center was a Christmas village, complete with a train circling it and a backdrop of snowy mountains on a starry night.

The rest of the room was nicely decorated as well. There was even a kid's corner where kids were watching Frosty tell everyone 'Happy Birthday' as they colored holiday pictures or strung popcorn and cranberries on a long string.

"Chief, it's good to see you." A blond haired gentleman approached with his handout.

I could tell right away that he was Edward's father due to the similar facial features. He was dressed nicely with a silk Christmas tie that had Santa on it.

"Carlisle, thank you for having us. This is my daughter, Bella," my father introduced us.

"Nice to meet you, Bella." He reached for my hand and smiled.

"You too, sir. You have a lovely home," I answered, shifting the pie so I could shake his hand.

"That would be all my wife's doing. I just do as I am told." He chuckled.

"Bella, Chief, thank you for coming. Bella, you look very pretty. I love that color on you," she commented on my dark emerald green, sleeveless dress.

I liked Esme, she was a sweet woman. I had had a few sessions with her when I first moved here. I still saw her periodically.

"Thank you. I love your home," I told her.

"Thank you, dear. Is that pie for us?" She grinned looking at the pie in my hand.

I nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Pecan? That happens to be my son Edward's favorite." She smiled widely. "He's right over there if you want to go say hi to him."

I glanced where she had nodded her head and found Edward. The second I saw him, it was like I was being pulled towards him.

He was in a group of four others about his age. He was paying attention to a tall blonde, who looked like she could be a model. She was speaking to him with one hand on his arm. I felt a twinge of pain in my heart seeing him in an intimate position with someone else. As if he had sensed me staring, he looked over and our eyes met.

I glanced away quickly, needing to get away. "Where should I put the pie?" I asked.

"I can take it into the kitchen. Right now, I have appetizers and hot dishes out. I plan to bring out dessert later." Esme reached for the pie.

"I can bring it into the kitchen for you. I don't mind." I really wanted an excuse to leave the room for a minute so I could gather my thoughts.

Esme hesitated, eyeing me thoughtfully before she warmly smiled. "The kitchen is right through there. You will see other desserts on the table." She gestured to the door towards the back of the room.

I made my way to the kitchen weaving through people and feeling his eyes on me. I sighed with relief as the door swung shut behind me. I spotted the table and placed my pie in an empty spot among the other goodies.

Their kitchen was huge, not that I was too surprised. I was slightly jealous, though. Charlie's kitchen was so tiny in comparison.

I grabbed a cookie shaped like a candy cane from a tray and wandered around the kitchen as I tried to delay going back. I had seen a glimpse of Tanya while I was in the other room, and I wasn't looking forward to talking with her, either.

I spotted a glass door that went out to a deck that had also been decorated with white lights and a couple of heat lamps. I ventured out, leaning against the railing, as an instrumental version of "I'll be Home for Christmas_"_ played out of the speakers, mounted on the side of the house. It was lightly snowing again; the type where the flakes drifted down in small swirls, making their backyard look pretty with its blanket of white. I shivered, realizing that despite the heat lamps I wouldn't last too long out here.

I felt someone place something on my shoulders, and glanced up to see Edward looking down at me. He had pulled off his jacket and placed it around me.

"You're gutsy, sneaking a cookie. My father's hands are covered in small welts from my mother smacking him over the past few days for trying." He looked at the cookie in my hand.

"Oh, I didn't think anyone would mind. I can put it back." I started to turn away, but he placed a hand on my arm.

"I was just teasing." He smiled playfully. "Please, stay."

"Thank you for the jacket." I pulled it closer around me.

"You're welcome, you looked cold," he murmured softly, playing with what looked like a picture frame, that was now balancing on the railing.

"Won't your girlfriend mind?" I asked then glanced back out at the yard, to watch the snowfall. I had a hard time focusing with him this close.

He was dressed better than his counterpart, Anthony. His clothes fit him. He wore a green shirt that matched my dress, as well as his eyes. He wore a tie that had Santa in a sleigh being pulled by reindeers.

"I don't have a girlfriend," he answered as he leaned against the railing, so close to me that our arms brushed.

"Oh, she looked like she was close to you. I guess I shouldn't have assumed." I blushed in embarrassment but was also relieved.

"If you're referring to Rose, she is pissed with my friend Emmett, because of our little project, and was trying to make him jealous. He didn't warn her beforehand what he was up to. She's pissed off that he would go around and kiss other girls," he explained.

I nodded in understanding. There was a beat of silence before I spoke again. "So how did your friends make out, in all curiosity?" I asked and I took a bite out of the cookie.

"Well Emmett, who was the jock, got kissed by about thirty girls—hence why Rose is all upset. Jasper got about twelve kisses. His girlfriend Alice was all put out since she thinks that she and Rose should've been included in our experiment. In her opinion, we should've seen how the opposite gender would've reacted, or even if one of them or us, should've been gay," he explained.

"She has a good point. You didn't explore all stereotypes, since that was what you were going for." I clucked my tongue against my cheek.

He sighed heavily and looked regretful. "If it's any consolation, you reminded me that not everyone falls into a stereotype. Can we talk more about this, please?" He gestured to a bench swing behind him.

"Sure." I nodded in agreement. I went to sit, but he stopped me, so that he could brush the snow from the seat. I sat down while he opened the lid to a box that was also acting as a table, and pulled out a thick brown blanket. He draped it over my legs.

"My parents like to sit out here when it's not raining. If you're too cold, we can go inside." He appeared to be nervous.

"This is fine," I answered. He sat next to me, angling his body to see me.

"Here, I wanted to show you this." He handed me a framed photo, our fingers brushed sending sparks up my arm. It looked like him as Anthony but with some acne and braces. "That was me in high school. So Anthony wasn't too far off from how I really once was," he explained the photo to me.

"I owe you an apology for how I acted and the things I accused you of. I let my past catch up with me. You see, when I was in school in Chicago I was treated much like Anthony was. Only somehow, this time around, I avoided being shoved into lockers and getting a swirlies." He wrinkled his nose before he continued. "There was this one girl named Maggie. She was basically the only one nice to me in school. She used to kiss my cheek and say that she liked me. She would tell me how she wished that she was as smart as I was, because she was bad at school. So I had offered to tutor her. Things seemed great until I asked her to prom, and she laughed in my face. I found out she was using me the whole time to get a better grade. She was dating a member of the football team." His voice became strained.

"What she did was cruel. I'm sorry that happened to you," I whispered. I handed the picture back. He placed it face down on the box next him.

"I'm sorry that I took what she did out on you. You were right to call me out for not seeing past stereotypes. You're nothing like her or the kids at this school. I wish I found someone like you when I was in school," he apologized again, seeming sincere.

"I hate cliques with a passion. I've tried to avoid Tanya, but I haven't had any luck. It seems the more I don't want anything to do with her, the more she tried to attach herself to me," I lamented while I picked at a pill on the blanket.

"She feels threatened by you, would be my speculation. With how beautiful, sweet, and kind you are, you could easily be more popular," he reasoned. His hand inched towards mine then pulled it back suddenly. He tilted his head back and closed eyes briefly, shaking his head.

"That's the thing, I've never wanted popularity. I came here hoping I was escaping cliques and the drama, but it seems to be everywhere." I sighed and looked back out at the yard.

"Did something happen back at your old school?" he asked abruptly

I looked up sharply, and he ducked his head sheepishly.

"Sorry, you made it sound like something had happened, the other day. You don't have to tell me." He ran his hand through his hair, looking embarrassed. I suppose if he could open up to me that I could do the same.

"The high school I went to in Phoenix was large. I was probably considered a loner, if you want to categorize me. I spent my time with my nose in a book and not involved with others around me. I wasn't the only one, either, so why they singled out this one girl to bully her relentlessly, instead of me, I don't know. She was a sweet girl but just painfully shy. They even went as far as to elect her to the Homecoming court as a joke. It became so bad that she ended her life. I was the one who found her in the locker room." I looked at my hands. "I always felt guilty that I didn't speak up. I was too afraid too, since I didn't want them to focus on me.

When I saw them turning on you, I thought of her. I wanted it to be different this time around, so I tried to become your friend. Then I started to really like who you are, and I wanted them to like you too. Maybe, it can be seen as pity, but that wasn't my intent." I twisted the blanket in my hand. He reached out and brushed my hand with his finger before resting his on top of mine. My hand relaxed under his gentle touch.

"You're right, it's not pity. I think it was more like compassion." He raised his other hand and brushed my cheek softly. My cheek tingled with warmth under his touch.

"So, maybe, we could be friends now?" I asked. His smile waned as he dropped his hand from my face and he shifted in his seat and was now sitting forward. His other hand still rested on top of mine.

"Friends…" He tried out the word like it was foreign to him.

"Or not," I mumbled, blushing, and tried to pull my hand away, but he held on to it tight.

"What if I wanted to be more than friends with you? What would your father say to you dating a twenty-year-old college student?" he asked shyly.

"Well, I'm not sure, but since I'm already eighteen, he wouldn't have much say. I do know that he likes and respects your parents, so you would have that in your favor. And two years really isn't that bad." I looked up to see him looking at me fondly. "You want to be more than friends?" I repeated to see if I heard him right.

He ducked his head a bit and I saw the shy and unsure side of him. "Yes, I really like you, Bella. You've seen the side of me that I normally keep hidden and you still liked me for it. My new friends may have helped me come out of my shell, but I'm still that nerd." The tips of his ears turned pink. My heart melted because he seemed so cute.

"I really like you too. Both sides of you." I smiled up at him.

He smiled then leaned down initiating a kiss for the first time. His lips touched mine lightly and sweetly. I returned the kiss but allowed him to have control over it. I felt him pull me onto his lap and the blanket fell at our feet as the swing started to sway slightly. A gust of wind blew by, and I shivered as I felt it toss up my skirt and the cold air hit my thighs.

He pulled back and bent over to grab the blanket. He tucked it around us and held me close, resting his forehead against mine.

"So that was our first kiss without the aid of mistletoe." I grinned.

He looked up at a small decorative ball that hung on the arch of the swing, and then back at me with an apologetic smile.

"Actually, that is a Kissing Ball. It has mistletoe on it." He looked so guilty that I started to laugh. "It's actually sort of a family tradition. It was originally started with my great-grandparents. My great-grandmother made one for a holiday party, decorating it with mistletoe. My great-grandfather gave her first kiss under it. A year later, he proposed to her by placing the ring on the kissing ball for her to find on Christmas Eve. My grandfather and my father proposed the same way. Each year the mistletoe needs to be replaced, but we always have one. If it's any consolation, I didn't know my mother had placed it there, until you said something." The history behind his family's kissing ball was very sweet.

I untangled myself from the blanket and stood up. I moved to the center of the deck, and spun in a small circle with snow swirling around me.

"No mistletoe here." I stopped and faced him. He chuckled as he stood up, and pulled me to him then kissed me. This time, I felt the kiss down to my toes. He pulled me tight to him like he did in the cafeteria, only this time, there was no one to stop us. He licked my lower lip and I parted my lips to allow him to slip his tongue into my mouth. Our tongues entwined and danced together. When he pulled back, we were both breathless and grinning like mad. I wasn't even a bit cold anymore.

I recognized the song "It Must Have Been the Mistletoe" on the speakers as he still held me to him, slightly swaying.

"Dance with me?" he asked softly.

I nodded. He slipped one hand to my waist and held the other lacing our finger together. We danced and spun in the falling snow on his parents' deck. He sang along softly with a velvety a voice that was making me swoon. Every so often, we exchanged small kisses gently on the lips and silly grins. I was falling for him. I only hoped that he felt it too.

"I haven't told you yet, but you look very beautiful tonight. I wish could've taken you to the dance, like you wanted," he murmured softly, his eyes shined as he stared into mine, making my heart skip a beat.

"Thank you, but the truth is I'm not much for dances. How I haven't stepped on your foot yet is beyond me," I admitted, shyly.

"It's all in the leading." He kissed my forehead before twirling me around him.

"You look very handsome yourself. Why aren't you wearing your glasses? Or was that part of just Anthony?" I asked, curious. I liked in him in glasses, not that he was any less handsome without them.

"I need them for reading or driving. I don't need to wear them all the time. That was part of Anthony," he answered.

"Too bad I liked them." I pouted slightly and reached up to play with hair behind his ear.

He swallowed hard and the tips of his ears turned pink. "What are you and your father doing for Christmas?" He stammered slightly.

I shrugged. "Charlie has to work, so I'll probably watch Christmas movies all day."

"That's not right. Come here. My mother would love to have you," he insisted then blushed slightly. "I would love to have you here. You shouldn't be alone on Christmas."

"I don't want to intrude." I was hesitant to agree.

"You won't. I promise the minute my mother knows of your plans, she's going to insist too. Besides, Alice and Jasper will be here as well." He kissed my nose. "Please," he asked sweetly.

I nodded, feeling a bit dazed being so close to him.

"What are you doing for New Year's Eve? Do you have plans yet?" he asked as we swayed.

"No plans yet. When do you leave to go back to school?" I asked, nervously. I was hoping we would have some time together before he had to go back.

"The next quarter starts on January 6th. The previous semester ended on December 6th which was why we were able to do this project now," he explained as he spun us lightly. "Can I… Will you…" He stumbled over his words.

"Can you…Will I…what?" I giggled slightly at his adorableness.

"May I, take you out on a date on New Year's Eve?" He managed to ask.

"Yes, you may. I love to go on a date with you. Only if you promise me one thing." I smiled and kissed his smooth chin. He tensed and I felt bad for teasing him. "You have to promise to kiss me at midnight." I played with the collar of his shirt.

His body relaxed again and he smiled. "Do I have to wait for midnight?" he asked as he leaned down for another kiss.

We stopped swaying, and I wrapped my arms around his neck while his arms circled my waist pulling me tight to him.

**MP**

I heard the porch door open loudly. "There you are."

We pulled back slightly. At first Edward kept his hands around my waist, but dropped them when he saw who approached. I reached over to grab his hand.

Tanya sauntered forward in a black dress that looked like it had been painted on. She glanced from me and back at Edward with narrowed eyes. She eyed him up and down, and licked her lips.

"So this is where you have been hiding, and I can see why. Hi, I'm Tanya. I'm Bella's best friend." She held her hand out to Edward.

He glanced down at it strangely, looking almost offended. I, on the other hand, snorted with laughter.

"What's so funny?" She scowled at me.

"Well first, I don't even consider you a friend, let alone my best friend. Second, you would think you would recognize your own cousin."

She looked sharply back at Edward.

"Excuse me, love." He reached into the inner pocket of his jacket that I was still wearing. His hand brushed my breast, and my heart fluttered. He pulled out his glasses then slipped them on. Tanya sucked in her breath sharply and her jaw dropped.

"Better?" he asked her. She stood there fuming, when she fully realized who he was.

"Are you kidding me? If you could actually look like that, then why do you show up to school looking like a social reject? Are you two plotting against me?" Her accusing eyes darted to me. She was building up to unleash on him, from the look on her face. She just needed a reason to make herself the victim.

"No, of course not. I graduated high school four years ago. I was there to conduct an experiment on the social structure of the school. It had nothing to do with you at all. I didn't meet Bella prior to it. But I'm happy that I have now," he explained, giving me a shy grin in the end.

"Well, you can make it up to me by introducing me to one of your college friends." She huffed tapping her foot impatiently.

"Why should he? You went out of your way to be horrible to him and make him an outcast. He did nothing to you that he should be ashamed of. If anything, you owe him." I scoffed.

She tossed me a scathing look before looking back at Edward. "Well," she demanded.

"Well, what?" Edward's voice had a nervous edge to it. "She's right. I wouldn't even introduce you to my worst enemy, let alone a friend."

"I could make Bella's life miserable. She's still in school. How about introducing me to that big guy, that was in there?" She crossed her arms with a sinister smile she tried to threaten me.

"That big guy belongs to me," a new voice cut in. Rose appeared out of nowhere, and stood toe to toe with Tanya. Tanya flinched back from her as if she had been shocked. "Now see here, little miss thing, I've heard a lot about you and I heard you for myself, just now. I don't like you. You're a mean, spiteful bitch. I don't like bitches who think they are better than everyone else. So stay the hell away from my man, and stay away from my friends. You're lucky it's Christmas time and I've decided to be nice. I won't be the next time. You may think you're the queen bee, but you're just a sorry excuse for an insecure girl. Peddle your crap somewhere else," Rose hissed at her.

Tanya stomped her foot and flounced away. She slammed the door entering the house.

I didn't know whether to be impressed by Rose or intimidated. I definitely knew that I didn't want to be on her bad side. She turned to us and her posture relaxed.

"I know she's your cousin, but that girl better watch herself." She looked at Edward before she focused on me. "Hi, I'm Rose. I'm assuming by the way Edward here is looking at you that you're Bella." She smiled warmly, a polar opposite of a moment ago.

"Yes, nice to meet you, Rose." I held out my hand.

She ignored it and stepped forward and gave me a small hug. "I'm not normally such a bitch. Only when the people I care about are being threatened, but I can be brutally honest at times. I think we will be good friends from what I have heard about you so far." She looked at Edward's and my linked hands with a smile. "I know you're the first girl that caught this bookworm's attention, so you must be something special."

"Rose." Edward's ears turned pink, again.

"Oh, Edward, I'm just teasing you. I'm happy that she's seems perfect for you. Besides, it's better that I found you than Bella's dad. He had to leave because of a work emergency; I had volunteered to find her. I'm sure you won't mind giving her a ride home." She winked at him.

"Of course not." He shook his head.

"Good, in the meantime stop hogging her. The others will like to get to know her too. It will be easier for her to visit in Seattle, if her father thinks she has girl friends to stay the night at." She linked her arm with mine. She started to walk to the house. I pulled him along with us.

"One second, Rose, we will be right there." I stopped right before going into the house.

"Okay, but if you're not in there in three minutes, I will send Emmett out for you." She grinned slyly before stepping into the house.

"Are you alright? I know Rose can be a bit…"

I cut him off with a kiss. "I just wanted one more. I like kissing you; I may be addicted," I whispered against his lips. I pecked them one more time and I looked up at him through my eyelashes.

"That won't be our last kiss tonight," he vowed as he touched my cheek. "Merry Christmas, Bella."

"Merry Christmas, Edward," I responded with a smile.

**MP**

**A/N: **

**Merry Christmas!**

**Thank you all who voted for my story. **

**This story will be extended from where this left off. I don't plan on a full-fledged story, but there will be handful of chapters looking in on the couple. The second chapter will pick-up when they go in, but the third will jump to Valentine 's Day. After that I'm not too sure but at least two past that.**

**If you noticed, I took off the epilogue and will post it again at the end. **

**Thank You For All Reviews!**


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.

**Ch 2:**

**(EPOV)**

Bella and I stepped into the warm kitchen together. I blinked to adjust to the light — it was considerably brighter in here than out on the deck.

I frowned when Bella let go of my hand. She stepped to the side and slipped my jacket off of her. She held it out to me with a smile. "Thank you, for letting me borrow your coat." She kissed my cheek lightly.

I nodded and took it from her. "You're welcome. You can keep it if you're not warm enough yet." I was concerned seeing her bare, pale arms. I never understood women's fashion; it was winter, so shouldn't warmer clothes be worn. Not that she didn't look nice. In fact, she was beautiful — more than beautiful. I was still in a bit of shock that she was willing to be mine.

"I'm warm enough." Her eyes twinkled as she smiled. "We better go find your friends before they hunt us down."

I nodded. I was nervous about her meeting them. Not that I didn't think they would like her — I'm sure they would. I was more nervous about Emmett trying to embarrass me in front of her. I slipped on my jacket and grabbed her small hand in mine again.

I started to head out of the room when I spotted the pie I saw her holding earlier. "Did you make this?" I asked, approaching the table for a closer look. Looking at the dark brown nuts on the pie, made my mouth water.

"Yes, your mom told me that it was your favorite. I guess I lucked out," she answered with a smile.

I let go of her hand so that I could cut a slice and place it on a paper snowman plate. "It looks delicious." I grabbed a plastic fork and broke off a piece; bringing it to my mouth.

"Won't you get in trouble with your mom for sneaking a piece early?" she teased me.

"Naw, with so many guests around, she won't know that it was me." I shrugged before taking a bite. I couldn't help, but to moan in delight. Her pie was delicious — better even than mom's.

"I wouldn't count on that," my mother's spoke up from behind me.

I turned quickly to see her in the doorway with her hands on her hips. She was giving me a stern look. I shrugged sheepishly; her irritation melted and she rolled her eyes. She looked to my side and smiled wider.

"I see that the two of you worked things out." She seemed pleased and almost gloating. I prayed that she didn't bring up us having babies. It was way too soon for that.

"We had a good talk." I nodded then changed the subject. "Mom, would you mind if Bella has dinner with us on Christmas? Her father has to work so she will be all by herself."

"Bella, we would love to have you," mom answered then headed to the oven and pulled a tray out.

"Thank you. May I help you with anything?" Bella asked politely.

Mom shook her head. "I have everything under control. You two go and enjoy yourselves." She waved us off.

I placed a hand on the small of Bella's back and led her to the living room. I paused in the doorway, holding the door open with my back. I spotted my friends by the fireplace talking.

"I should apologize now for Emmett," I started to explain.

"Why?" Bella interrupted. She gave him a curious looked before turning back to me.

"He doesn't think before he speaks. So he often comes across crass," I explained, her eyes narrowed, so I quickly added. "He's a good friend though. He took me under his wing when I got to college. He had my back, defending me against a lot of the bullies — who didn't appreciate a younger kid showing them up in class. He and Jasper got me working out on a regular basis. His words were 'just because I was a nerd, didn't mean I had to be weak.'."

Bella's eyes snapped back to Emmett and she glared. "He called you a nerd and weak?" she hissed.

Emmett happened to glance up, at that moment and looked at us. His eyes widened and he looked behind him. He turned back and mouthed, 'What did I do?'.

Before I could explain, my mother came through with a tray and I had to quickly step to the side. The next thing I knew, Bella was already half-way across the room, looking like an angry kitten, ready to attack.

I hurried after her, weaving through people and got to her just as she reached the group. Rose looked up curiously, she glanced at Bella then Emmett and lifted an eyebrow. I had to admit it was pretty funny to see Emmett shrink away from Bella — when she wasn't even half his size.

"Emmett, right?" She stood right in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"Um…yes…have I done…" He looked taken aback.

"Do you think it really necessary for you call someone who thinks of you as a friend, weak or a nerd? Especially, if you know that they are being bullied already," she demanded.

"Um…no." Emmett shook his head and shot me a confused glance.

"Bella, it was years ago. He was just teasing." I pulled on her arm.

She relaxed and her eyes softened when they met mine. "That doesn't make it right." She frowned.

"When was this?" Rose asked, looking at Emmett with a frown.

"Not long after we first met. I'm sorry, this was my fault. I was explaining to Bella how Emmett tended to speak without thinking. Then I told her how we met and he made the comment 'Being a nerd doesn't excuse me for being weak.'. It was when he was showing me how to get stronger and how to defend myself against the bullies. I didn't get a chance to add that last part." I glanced at Bella. "He and Jasper basically taught me to fight back and defend myself. He wasn't a jerk about it."

She frowned and turned to Emmett. "Then I guess I owe you an apology for blowing it out of proportion. I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "It's okay. You're right, I shouldn't have said it to him, even in jest. Sorry, man," he apologized.

"It's all water under the bridge," I answered. I looked down at Bella as she leaned into me. I kissed the top of her head and hugged her to my side. I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face.

"Rose, you're so right. I love her already." Alice started to laugh.

"I agree, it's not every day you see Emmett cower away from someone that small." Jasper chuckled, raising his drink to Bella.

"Bella, you've already met, Rose. And you figured out who Emmett was. These two here are my friends, Alice and Jasper. Guys, this is Bella," I introduced them.

"Pleased, to meet you," Bella said softly.

"You, too. Do you like to shop? I know a ton of places we can go, when and if you come up to Seattle," Alice asked excitedly.

Bella cringed slightly. "I'm afraid that I'm not a big shopper. Sorry," she apologized.

"Well we will have to find a reason to give you an excuse to come visit. Or will your father just let you come visit Edward, without another excuse?" Alice just shrugged it off.

"I don't know. I have yet to discuss it with him," Bella answered. "I don't think he will have an issue with his age, but I doubt he will be so agreeable to me staying with him."

"We can talk to him together about it. It's probably best that I get introduced to him before I head back," I suggested.

"Isn't he the chief of police? Aren't you worried that he would shot you for dating his daughter?" Jasper teased me.

I paled. I hadn't thought about that. What if he knew about what happened earlier in the week? Would he be upset with how I treated his daughter? But then Bella didn't think he would have a problem with it.

"He won't shot you." Bella rolled her eyes.

Does he know about the project, and how I accused you of bad motives?" I asked nervously.

Her eyes soften and she shook her head. "No, he doesn't. I told you I wouldn't tell anyone," Bella answered softly. She gave my arm a squeeze. "You have nothing to worry about. I'm sure he will like you."

"Where did you get the pie?" Emmett pointed at my plate.

I looked down realizing I had barely touched my pie, since I rushed to catch up to Bella then got distracted.

"Bella brought it. My mom should bring it out later with the rest of the desserts." I held the pie closer to me, because I wouldn't put it past to him to try and take it.

"Then how come you have a piece?" He pouted.

"Because he special." Bella grinned.

**MP**

Christmas eve I found myself outside the Swan's home nervous to go in. It seemed only fair that I ate with Bella and her father, since she would be at our house most of the day tomorrow. I stood in front of the door fixing my tie for the third time, I took a deep breath and knocked.

The door opened and Bella was standing there with a smile. Her hair was down and she was wearing a dark red sweater with a pair of jeans and barefoot.

"Hi, Edward." she smiled and reached up on her toes, to kiss me lightly on the lips.

"Hi. Am I overdressed?" I asked, looking down at my clothes.

She was dressed more casually. I didn't want to look pretentious in front of her father.

"I think you look very nice. But you could probably lose your tie, if you want. Charlie isn't dressed up." Bella took the cookies my mother sent with me, as I tugged on the tie, a little frantically.

"Are you okay?" She looked concerned, she touched my arm lightly.

"I've never done this before. Met someone's parents. In fact, I never had a girlfriend before. I had a date once. Alice had set me up with one of her friends, but it was a disaster. I knocked into the waiter, causing him to dump our food, all over her. What was even worse, one of the meals had red sauce, and she was wearing white. Unfortunately, that was the best part of the evening and it went downhill from there," I rambled, until she pressed a finger to my lips.

She gave a soft smile, at least, she wasn't laughing at me. "Breathe," she told me calmly.

I took a deep breath and relaxed. She kissed my cheek and gave me a reassuring smile.

"I've made a roast with mashed potatoes and vegetables. No red sauce, I promise. There is gravy, but we will just keep that away from you." She winked. "But honestly, you have nothing to fear when it comes to my dad. He may be the Chief of Police, but he is pretty easy-going. Ready?" She held out her hand.

I tucked my tie into my pocket and nodded. I grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. She led me into the house and to the living room.

"Dad, this is Edward Cullen. Edward, this is my father." Bella introduced us.

Chief Swan was already standing and held out his hand. I gave him a firm handshake like my father taught me.

"Edward, it's nice to meet you." His face was stoic so I couldn't register what his first impression of me was.

"You too, sir," I said.

"Please, call me Chief or Charlie. You make me feel old with the 'sir' business." He took his seat in a recliner.

"I'm going to bring this into the kitchen. May I get you something to drink?" Bella asked.

"I don't drink," I answered too quickly.

Charlie looked up at me with a smirk and Bella just raised an eyebrow. She gave me a tiny smile and shook her head.

"Are you sure? We have milk, water, egg nog, and soda," she explained.

I felt like an idiot, of course, she meant something non-alcoholic. "Soda, please. Do you need any help in the kitchen?" Remembering my manners.

"I will be all set, thank you for offering" She let go of my hand and headed to the kitchen.

I felt awkward left standing there. Should I sit? I was nervous walking in front of her father when he was watching the television.

"You may sit down it you would like, Edward." Charlie suddenly looked up at me.

I nodded and took a seat on the edge of the couch. As soon as my butt touched the cushion; he muted the television.

"How old are you, Edward?" He turned in his seat and asked me.

"Twenty, sir…Charlie," I replied. I watched for some indication that he was upset with the age difference, but his face was still blank.

"And you're a senior at U-Dub, correct?" he questioned.

"Yes. I finished high school two years early. I will be entering the med program at U-Dub next year," I responded.

"That is impressive." He nodded. "Can you tell me a little about your project at the high school?"

I hesitated at first.

Bella entered and handed me a root beer with a smile. She took the seat next to me.

"It is an interesting project. He and his friends were studying how stereotypes reflect how our peers may reacted to each other. For example, how with the same situation our peers may react differently to a 'jock' than to a 'nerd'," Bella spoke up proudly.

"Which stereotype were you?" he asked.

"I was the nerd." I cleared my throat. "My friends and I each wore mistletoe hats to school to see how many kisses we would receive."

He only nodded. He looked at Bella with a smirk. "Is that why you kissed him in the cafeteria?" He snickered.

Bella blushed. "I did and would do it again," she retorted. "It was unfair how the kids at the school labeled him."

"Yes, Bella actually taught me a lesson. I realized, thanks to her, not everyone judges others by stereotypes." I gave her a smile.

She smiled back at me and I momentarily got lost looking into her eyes.

Charlie cleared his throat and my attention went back to him. "So you two are a thing now?" He pointed his finger back and forth between us.

"Yes, Dad." I told you that before he came over," Bella answered patiently.

He shrugged. "How is that going to work with you in Seattle and her here in Forks," he asked.

"Well, I hope to come back for a weekend, at least, once a month. We will be able to chat on the phone or Skype the rest of the time," I answered.

"I also plan to visit him in Seattle." Bella pointed out.

Charlie's eyes narrowed. "And where would you be staying up there." He cut his glance to her before glaring at me, again.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Since he was the police chief did that mean he kept his gun on him at all times?

"I met Alice and Rose the other night, at the party, they are the girlfriends of Edward's friends. They offered their couch to me, whenever I come up. They even offered to take me shopping and whatnot. I believe you met Rose, since you sent her looking for me," Bella answered calmly.

Charlie nodded as he was thinking about something. "Right, I remember her now. Was Alice the short one with dark hair and a purple dress?"

I couldn't remember, but Bella was nodding. Charlie looked thoughtful for a moment. As he seemed to be weighing things in his mind.

"If I let you go, I don't want you going to clubs. Those places only lead to trouble. I would also like to meet Alice and Rose, again," he was talking straight to Bella now.

"Those places aren't really my scene. So you wouldn't have to worry about that," I explained.

"And what is your scene?" He raised eyebrow as he waited for my explanation.

"Well, there is a reason why I was the 'nerd'." Bella huffed from beside me. "I tend to like simpler things — museums, movies, the theater, performances at Benaroya Hall, that sort of thing."

"Well I guess as long as I know your game plan and a number where you can be reached then I we can give it a try. I know you're mature for your age, Bells, but I still feel more comfortable if I knew these things." Charlie reasoned.

"That is more than reasonable, I think." I looked at Bella.

"Of course, Dad. If that what it takes to let me go. We will work with your limits." Bella promised.

**A/N:**

**Bella is going to be pretty protective of Edward. She's not going to tolerate anyone picking one him. Even Emmett. ;) Did you enjoy his meeting with Charlie? Poor guys was nervous. **

**Up next will be Valentine's day. I should be updating once a week. **

**Thank You For All Reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.**

**Ch. 3**

**February**

**BPOV**

Once Edward started back to school, I saw him every other weekend. One weekend he would come to Forks and the other I would make the trip to Seattle. Unbeknownst to Charlie, I stayed with Edward in his apartment while there. We shared a bed, but we haven't taken that final step yet.

I arrived just after six on a Friday afternoon to Edward's condo. I made great time, since I was able to leave early in the afternoon, due to my last period being a study hall and Charlie writing me a note. Edward wasn't expecting me until next weekend, but I wanted to make a surprise visit, since it was Valentine's Day.

I grabbed my bags out of the car and slung it over my shoulder. I went up to his door and knocked on the door. I stepped back slightly and waited to see if he was home. He had given me a key but I was hesitant to use it when he didn't expect me if he was there.

The door opened and he stood there in the door, wearing jeans and a sweater. I was pleased to see that he was wearing his glasses.

His eyes widen in surprise. "Bella, what are you doing here?"

I didn't answer right away, but dropped my bags at my feet so that I could wrap my arms around him. I kissed him hard on the lips and he responded back after a moment.

I pulled away from him and grinned up at him. "I wanted to surprise you. I plan on making dinner for you tonight."

His smile faltered into a grimace. "I can't. I have plans."

My smile waned a bit, but I didn't give up right away. "Can you change them this once? I wanted our first…"

I trailed off when he started to shake his head. I didn't even get to mention Valentine's Day to him.

"I'm sorry. I really am. I promised Heidi I would study with her tonight," he explained.

I felt a sharp pain of rejection. He was going to be with some other girl on Valentine's Day? Why hasn't he mentioned this Heidi before?  
>"And it has to be tonight?" I tried to keep the suspicion and hurt out of my voice.<p>

Edward looked completely torn. He pulled at his hair and looked completely frustrated.

"If I could change it I would. She has a test Monday and is in danger of failing. The professor asked me specifically to tutor her. Normally, I don't offer my services to people I don't know that well, not after Maggie." He reached for my hand, begging me to understand.

"Oh, I see." I sighed in disappointment. "Well, what time are you meeting her? I could make dinner right now, so you could eat first. Or I could have it ready for you when you come back." I suggested. I came all this way, I didn't want it to be for nothing.

"I'm not sure when I'll be back. Please, don't go to any trouble." Edward said.

"Should I just leave then?" I huffed.

"Please, don't be mad. I want you to stay. I don't have plans for tomorrow. We can spend the day together. Give Rose and Alice a call, maybe you can hang out with them?" he suggested.

"I'm pretty sure they are busy with Emmett and Jasper tonight," I answered. In fact, I know they were, since it was Valentine's Day.

"Oh," Edward looked guilty. "You want to join us. I won't be able to give you my undivided attention, but we are studying at a local pizza parlor near the university. Food isn't nearly as good as yours, but it's decent."

"You're studying at a pizza parlor?" I couldn't see how anyone could study in that loud environment.

"It was her choice. She says that's where she studies best." He shrugged and rolled his eyes.

"Perhaps, that is why she is failing," I snorted.

He chuckled. "I was thinking that too. I was hoping to show her that it was impossible to get anything done, to convince her to move to a quieter place, like the library or bring her here. As long as that won't inconvenience you."

I grinned and relaxed. He was trying to appease me the best he could. I realized I may have put him in unfair position, since he didn't expect me to be here. My Edward would never cheat, I knew that. I just had a fool's notion to make today special.

"Why don't you come here? I can read or watch TV in your room," I responded.  
>His shoulders relaxed and he smiled back at me. "Here let me help you with your bags." He bent down and picked up the bags that I had dropped.<p>

"Thank you. I can take these to the kitchen. Will you take those to the bedroom? This one needs to be hung up." I pointed to a bag and took the other ones.

"You brought a dress? I thought you didn't like dresses," he questioned.

"I'm not a big fan, but I wanted to look special for you tonight." I blushed.

"Why do I feel like I'm missing something?" He looked so confused, that it was rather adorable.

That's when I realized that he had no clue that it was Valentine's Day. I was about to tell him when there was a knock on the door.

He looked to the door with a sigh. "That would be her. He shifted my bags to one hand and opened the door. "Heidi, I'll be ready in a minute. I just need to help Bella with her bags." He stepped aside to reveal a girl — that looked as if she belonged on a cover of a men's magazine.

She was wearing a blood red dress that appeared to be painted on. Her well-endowed breasts nearly spilling out of her dress that barely covered her ass. She was wearing a pair of stilettos that accentuated her long legs. Her sleek, dark hair was tossed over one shoulder.

_Studying_ my ass.

This girl looked like she was ready for a date. I doubted studying a textbook was the first thing on her mind.

"Aww, is she your little sister? Hi there, my name is Hei-di. I'm a friend of your brother's," she spoke to me as if I was only three.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes and I held out my hand. "Actually, I'm his girlfriend, not his sister." I placed on a smile.

Her smile faltered as she stared at my hand. She placed hers in mine so lightly that I could barely feel it. "Charmed. I don't think I've seen you on campus before. What's your major?" Her eyes tightened slightly.

"Bella is a senior in high school this year. She will be coming to U-Dub next year," Edward explained.

Heidi looked less than impressed — in fact she smirked. "Oh, well, isn't that nice," she commented, she fluttered her eyelashes.

"I'll be right back." Edward carried my bags to his room, leaving me with Heidi.

I headed to the kitchen and started to place things away in the fridge. I turned after closing the fridge to find that I had been followed.

"You're wasting your time, little girl. You'll never be able to hold his attention for long." She stood in the doorway with her hand on hips. "I've put in too much work to land him to give up now. I've sucked that dinosaur's dick to get him to set up Edward as my tutor. So you can just do us all a favor and go home."

I smirked back at her not at all intimidated. "I'm not going anywhere. It is you who is wasting their time. I don't know what games you're playing, but it's not going to work." I met her glare.

I looked up when I heard Edward's footsteps. He glanced between the two of us and his brows furrowed.

"Everything, okay?" he asked hesitantly.

"Everything is great. I was just offering to be Bella's big sister, when she comes here next year." Heidi placed on a fake smile.

"And I was just thanking her for her offer, and telling her that Rose had already offered me the same thing." I smiled back.

"Rose?" Heidi's smile faltered slightly.

"Yes. I'm sure you must know Rosalie Hale. Since you're friends with Edward." I smiled wider.

Heidi's expression faltered and, for a moment, she looked scared. I struggled not to laugh. It was obvious that she was intimidated by Rose.

She never answered, but looked at Edward with a smile. "Ready?" she asked brightly.

"Yeah, do you have your books?" Edward frowned looking at her empty hands.

"Oh shoot. I knew I was forgetting something," she giggled. "I guess we have to go back to my place to get them. In fact, since we are going there, we might as well study at my place." She batted her eyes and I didn't miss that she puffed out her chest.

However, I was pleased Edward never even looked down. He looked very annoyed instead.

"You know what, I have my book here and I've kept my notes. We can just use those," he suggested. "I'll go get them."

I stepped around Heidi and followed him down the hallway. I found him standing in front of a bookcase, looking for the book. I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned into him. His lips brushed the top of my head.  
>"Are you sure everything is alright? Things seemed tense in there," he commented.<p>

"Edward, I really think you need to cancel tonight and have the professor find someone else," I told him honestly.

"Bella, I thought we've been through this." He grabbed down a thick textbook.

"Well, that was before she showed up looking like she was going on a date. I bet she forgot her books on purpose. She made it no secret either that she was into you. She told me…"

He interrupted me before I could finish. "I'm not interested in her. Don't you trust me?" He looked hurt.

"Yes, I trust you. Her, I don't, not after…"

He interrupted again, making me frustrated. "Then I don't see how this is a problem." He walked over to a file cabinet and opened it. The only sound in the room was of him shuffling papers.

I closed my eyes and tried to think of my next approach. Of course, I trusted Edward. How do I explain to him that this girl was no better than Maggie? She obviously had something up her sleeve, and I didn't like it one bit.

My sweet Edward — although a very intelligent man — was completely oblivious to her.

I felt his fingers graze my chin, tilting my head up. I opened my eyes to see his green eyes looking at me intently.

"Are you mad at me?" He looked worried.

I shook my head. He didn't looked convinced.

"I'm not mad," I promised. I wasn't mad, just hurt he wasn't listening to my warnings.

"Edward, I seriously think Heidi is up to no good. I don't want to see you hurt." I chewed on my lower lip.

He gave me a small smile. "I'll be okay. I promise I won't let my guard down, if it makes you feel any better." He pecked my lips. "Are you coming with us?" he asked.

I gave him a weak smile. "I better not. I wouldn't want to embarrass you, if I attack her in public for trying something; like I did with Emmett."

He chuckled and grinned. "Actually that was kind of hot. I know you certainly earned Emmett's respect with that performance." He kissed me lightly on the lips. "Will you be awake when I get back?"

I nodded and he took a backward step away. "Edward?" I called just as he started to turn. I jumped forward and wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him heatedly. I pulled away after a moment; leaving a stunned Edward, blinking as he tried to figure out what just happened. I reached up and fixed his glasses. "Don't be too long." I pecked him on the lips.

He nodded mutely and turned to leave.

After a moment, I heard the front door close. I sighed and sat on his couch. I hope I made the right decision. Perhaps, I shouldn't have come this weekend. But then I might have discovered things about Heidi too late. Maybe, I should've gone with them.

I guess I just needed to just stay here and let it all play out.

**MP**

**(EPOV) **

I tapped my fingers on the textbook in annoyance. This was a bad idea, and I never should've agreed to do this. I couldn't seem to hold Heidi's attention for more than a minute. She was too busy calling out to other people in the pizza parlor.

I wanted to get this over with so that I could go back to Bella. I felt guilty that she came all this way and I couldn't spend time with her. I much rather be eating that dinner she offered to cook rather than be here with Heidi.

She didn't seem to care that she was failing her class. So why should I care that she was failing?

Right now, she was turned in her seat so she could talk to the girl in the booth behind us.

A knock on the window beside my head caused me to jump. I looked out the window to see Jasper standing on the other side with a frown on his face. The others were a few feet behind him. Rose and Alice were nearly glaring at me and even Emmett was frowning.

'What?' I mouthed.

'Get out here. I need to talk to you.' Jasper mouthed back.

I sighed and pushed out of the booth. "Heidi, I'll be right back."

She just waved me off. I rolled my eyes and headed for the door.

I was no sooner through when Jasper grasped my elbow and pulled me away a few feet.

"Edward, where's Bella?" he asked patiently.

"She's back at the apartment. You knew she was coming this weekend?" I asked in surprise. I wished someone would've told me this earlier.

"Well given that today is Valentine's Day, I'm not surprised she's here. So explain to me, why is she alone in your apartment, while you're out with another girl? She can't be happy with that."

My heart took an uneven thump in my chest. Today was Valentine's Day? I looked around and noticed everyone was coupled up in the restaurant. Most were in red and there was also heart decorations everywhere.

"Today is Valentine's Day?" The realization hit me hard.

Shit. That explained everything. Bella coming up as a surprise. Her dress and wanting to make me dinner. It was all for a Valentine's Day.

I had nothing for her and never even gave it a second thought. I always looked at it as a holiday trumped up by the greeting card and candy corporations.

"I take it, you didn't know," Jasper sighed then snickered slightly. "Why are you here with Heidi? You know that it looks like that you're on a date with her, right?"

"This isn't a date. I'm helping her study so she doesn't fail her exam on Monday. Professor Carson asked me to help her." I defended myself weakly. "I explained that to Bella when she asked me to cancel on Heidi."

Jasper raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Edward, look at Heidi. Does she look like someone who is here to study or to be on a date?"

I looked through the window, but didn't really have to. I knew the answer. "Date. Bella had said the same thing. She said, she trusted me though and she wasn't mad." I ran my hair roughly through my hair.

"Bella met Heidi. With her looking like that?" Jasper winced.

"I fucked up big time, haven't I? How do I fix this? Is there any place open this time of night for flowers and stuff?" I pleaded for help. I ran my hand through my hair nervously, waiting for any advice at all.

"Most places would be closed. And anything you grab now will look like an afterthought. You be better off not getting anything and coming clean," Rose spoke up.

I turned to face her. She was no longer glaring, but she looked disappointed.

"If you were him, you'd be castrated." Rose nodded her head towards Emmett. "But given you are all new to dating relationships and she is aware of that; you have a good chance of her forgiven you."

"She said, she wasn't mad, that's good right? Or did she lie about not being mad." I was obviously clueless in this area.

"She may not be mad, but she could still be feeling hurt, so apologize and do something nice for her," Alice explained, giving me an encouraging smile.

"Okay. I wish I listened to her and just cancelled. She was convinced that Heidi was up to no good." I tore at my hair with both hands. Bella had continuously warned me and I had ignored her.

"She's right. Heidi is up to no good and I'll be having another little talk with the slut," Rose hissed, glaring at her through the window. "Edward, Heidi has made it no secret that she wants you. And not in a good way. She thinks if she can land herself a nerd — her words not mine, I don't want Bella's wrath — then she will be able to marry rich and control the guy." Rose informed me. "I strongly advise that you don't tutor her anymore." She arched her eyebrow, looking peeved.

Her eyes soften slightly. "Go home to Bella. The sooner the better." She nudged me in the direction of my condo, which was a short walk away.

"I need to get my books." I paused not really wanting to go back in there. But I had to tell Heidi I was leaving, and that I couldn't tutor any more that would be the polite thing to do.

"I'll get them. As I said, I have to have a talk with Heidi." Rose narrowed her eyes and turned on her heel.

She stormed into pizza parlor with Emmett not far behind her.

"Thanks, for the help." I was grateful for my friends for pulling my head out of my ass.

"Just go, we can double the next time she's up. Your treat." Jasper grinned and slapped me on the back.

**MP**

I placed the key in the lock and entered the dark condo. At first, I was afraid that Bella had left after all. Then I could hear low voices coming from the living room. I found her curled up under a blanket in one of my sweatshirts on the couch. She had fallen sleep watching a movie on the TV. I glanced at the clock it was just after nine, which seemed early to me. But I couldn't bring myself to wake her.

I turned off the television and scooped her up in my arms. As soon as I touched her legs, I realized that she wasn't wearing a pants. I grew immediately hard and chastised myself for getting this way when she was asleep and unaware.

I carried her into my bedroom without turning on a light. Which was a mistake, because I forgot where I left her bag and I tripped right over it.

Somehow I managed to toss her, at the last second, and get her on the bed before I hit the floor.

"Shit." I mumbled, sitting up on my knees. I quickly tried to pick up the things that spilled out of her bag.

"Edward?" Bella called out sounding startled.

The bed shifted and suddenly there was light from the lamp on my nightstand. Bella looked over at me, one eyebrow raised to her hairline, when she focused on what I was holding.

I glanced down to see that I was holding a blue lacy bra. I dropped it into her bag as my face flamed red. "Sorry, I was trying to do a nice thing and not wake you up. I tripped and I was just trying to pick up my mess." I explained feeling flustered. Nothing today was going right.

Bella let out a small giggle. "Are you okay?" She slid off the bed so she was kneeling next to me. She fixed my glasses lovingly.

"Yes and no. I didn't get hurt, but I feel like a complete jackass for earlier. I had no clue that it was Valentine's Day. The last time I celebrated it, I was in grade school, and you had to make those cards for everyone. I'm sorry for not thinking about it and ruining your plans," I apologized.

She smiled gently and ran her hand through my hair. She leaned over and kissed my cheek. "I figured you didn't know. That's okay. I never been big on the holiday before. We can celebrate tomorrow."

"So you're not mad about the whole Heidi thing. I should've I listened to you, because you were right about her." I reached for her hand.

She shook her head. "I'm not mad that you were trying to help her out by tutoring her. But I will admit, that I'm a bit upset that you kept cutting me off and not fully listening to me when I tried to talk to you about it. You kept interrupting what I was trying to tell you, a few times."

I winced, before giving her an apologetic look. I didn't realize that I had done that. "I'm sorry for being so rude. What did she say to you?" I questioned.

Bella snorted and rolled her eyes. "Oh she tried to intimidate me, by calling me a little girl and that I was wasting my time, since I wouldn't be able to hold your attention."

"That's not true at all." I scowled.

She grinned and kissed my cheek, again. "She also commented that she didn't suck the dinosaur's dick to get him to have you tutor her for nothing." She grimaced.

It took me a moment to figure that out. "She did that. The professor has to be in his late sixties, at least." I shuddered.

Bella laughed. "Hence, why she probably called him a dinosaur."

"That is just wrong. I won't be tutoring her again anyways. I ran into Rose and the others at the pizza parlor. Rose told me that Heidi was looking for a rich nerd to control." I explained.

"Where is Heidi now?" Bella had fire in her eyes. She still hated when anyone called me or referred to me as a nerd.

"I have no idea, nor do I care. I rather spend time with you and forget that portion of the night happened." I shrugged. I stood and pulled her to her feet.

"Fine," she huffed. "Are you hungry? I could make you something," she offered.

"I'm good. Besides you were sleeping when I came in. If you're tired you can go to bed."

"I'm not tired. The movie was rather boring, so I fell asleep." She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around my neck. "Besides now that you're back, the last thing I want to do is sleep." She bit her lower lips and looked up at me through her eyelashes.

I leaned down to kiss her and she responded back. I felt her jump and her legs came around my waist without breaking the kiss. I gripped her ass in my hands and she moaned with pleasure into my mouth.

After a few minutes, I started to get slightly nervous. I haven't gone this far with anyone before and where I wanted to proceed, I wasn't sure how to. Surly saying 'do you want to have sex?' would kill the mood.

Bella pulled away sensing my nervousness and rested her forehead against mine. "You okay?"

I nodded. "I was just thinking," I answered.

"About," she prompted.

"About moving to the next level. That is if you're ready. I don't want rush you. Or disappoint you, since I have no clue what I'm doing." It all rushed out before I could stop. I flushed thinking I've said too much.

Bella jumped down from me and I cursed myself for ruining everything. She smiled up at me though. She reached down and pulled off my sweatshirt. She was left in a dark red lacy bra that matched her underwear.

My erection became painfully hard and pushed against my zipper. She was gorgeous and I was lucky to call her mine.

I swallowed and reached for my pants struggling with the button and the zipper. Her hands covered mine and she took over. She gently unzipped me and I felt her hand reach in to grasp me.

"Don't worry, we can learn together. Do you have a condom?" she asked.

I nodded. "In the drawer." I whimpered when she let go and went to the drawer. She pulled a condom out and opened it.  
>"May I? She looked up at me. Her eyes were dark and hooded.<p>

I nodded and watched as she stretched it over me as I prayed I didn't cum right there.

She looked up at me with a tender smile as she took my hands and walked backwards to my bed. She laid down pulling me with her. I hovered over for a moment looking at her with her hair spread out on my bed.

"Don't be afraid, we belong together," she whispered before pulling me down for a kiss.

**A/N:**

**So it wasn't the picture perfect Valentine's Day, however, to his defense he didn't know. Sometimes even the smartest guys can be clueless. **

**The end of the night was sweet and don't worry about Heidi. She will no longer be a problem. **

**Sorry if miss the previews. Unlike most stories I'm not ahead by chapters, due to the holiday season. I can tell you that next chapter involves prom season and possibly graduation depending on the length.**

**Thank You For All Reviews**


	4. Outtake: Rose vs Heidi

**I do not own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.**

**Outtake: Rose vs. Heidi**

**(EM POV)**

"I need to get my books." Edward looked reluctant.

I felt bad for the guy. Although he has come a long way from when I met him, he still hated conflict.

"I'll get them. As I said, I have to have a talk with Heidi." Rose narrowed her eyes and turned on her heels.

She stormed into pizza parlor, looking ready to rip Heidi to shreds.

_Hell Ya!_ _This I've got to see. _

I followed behind her into the restaurant. I took a seat at the counter but faced the restaurant. Rose was just reaching the booth when Alice jumped onto the stool next to me.

"Did we miss anything?" she asked excitedly.

"Nope." I shook my head.

I looked at the waiter, who appeared right behind me. "Can I get a pizza pie with extra sauce, extra cheese, and anchovies on one of those silver platters that look like it's on a pedestal and a pitcher of orange soda?"  
>Heidi still hadn't turned around to notice Rosie hovering over her. Rose slid into the opposite side of the booth and glared at Heidi. She started tapping her finger in a rhythmic pattern on the counter top.<p>

"How much cash do you guys have on you? We may need bail money." Jasper chuckled sitting next to Alice.

"Pfft. I'll charge it to daddy's card. It's not like he'll notice." Alice waved her hand, not concerned at all. Her mom died when she was little and her father remarried a woman that liked to pretend Alice didn't exist. He often just threw money at her, thinking that was enough.

We watched as Heidi placed her hand down on the open textbook without turning around.

Rose looked down at the hand for a half-second then back at the back of Heidi's head.

"She wouldn't." Jasper snickered.

"Oh she would. My girl has balls and I love her for them." I stated.

Alice snorted then let out a peal of laughter. Jasper's shoulders started to shake as he laughed.

"Not like that. She's got boobies not balls. She just kicks ass. She takes shit from no one." I corrected myself.

Rose finally let out an angry sigh, 'cause my girl doesn't like to be ignored.

_Give it to her, Baby._

As if she heard me, Rose slammed the book shut on Heidi's hand. Heidi shrieked and whirled around looking pissed off.

_Girl doesn't stand a chance, against my baby. _

Heidi's scowl fell from her face when she saw the angry Rosalie.

"I would say that I'm sorry, but we both know that would be a lie." Rose's glare made Heidi shrink in her seat.

"What are you doing here?" Heidi suddenly found her voice. "Edward should be back any minute. We are on a date."

"Brave," Jasper snorted.

"Please, Heidi is dumber than a box of rocks." Alice scoffed.

"How could rocks be smart? They don't have brains." I asked.  
>Alice looked at me with one eyebrow raised.<p>

"Oh, never mind, I got it now." I shook my head.

"Don't even try that with me. You now that your shit stinks just like everyone else's." Rose remarked with a roll of her eyes.

The restaurant had grown fairly quiet and most were watching the booth now.

"Edward is not on a date with you. He was asked by Professor Carson to tutor your pathetic ass to keep you from failing…what is it now…for the third time?" Rose asked. She yanked the book towards her making Heidi flinch.

"I just saw Edward. It seems the second he found out that today was Valentine's Day, he immediately ran off to be with his girlfriend, Bella. Have you met her? She's a good friend of mine." Rose gave her a meaningful look.

"You must know. I bet she called you crying that her boyfriend was here with me." Heidi sniffed.

"Actually, the last time I spoke to her was last night when she called about her plans for tonight with Edward. Bella is a big enough girl to stand on her own. Hell, if she's not afraid of Emmett, I doubt she would be scared of you. She doesn't need me to fight her battles."

"Then why are you here?" Heidi wrinkled her nose and pouted.

"To get Edward's books. He forgot them in his haste to get to Bella. I told him I would get them for him." Rose answered.

Her voiced had gotten calm. Too calm. That means that shit was going to hit the fan.

_Rosie is about to open up a can of whoop ass._

"Well, now that you have them you can leave." Heidi suddenly got too cocky for her own good.

_Good-bye Heidi. Wish I could say it was nice knowing you, but I'll miss you like I miss foot fungus._

"Not so fast. While I'm here. I think we need to have a little chat since it appears that you are a slow learner." Rose smiled coldly. "I said it nice last time, maybe that was my mistake."

_Nice, meaning that she was left standing with her hair on her head still._

"Stay the fuck away from Edward. I heard rumors of your plans and for your sake they better be just that or you'll find yourself in Davey Jones Locker, if I have a say in it.

"That may not be that bad. What sport does he play? As long as he's good and could make pros I'll make it work," Heidi commented.

I snorted, even I knew about Davey Jones.

"You're still not getting it, are you? I will not sit by and let you try to get your claws into Edward. I may hold you down so Bella can have a piece of you, but there is no way in hell that I would let a gold digging slut like you try to manipulate him." Rose growled. "He has found someone who has made him happy. And she loves him for who he is, not what he can do for her. Leave it alone."

"What's some matter the little girl not up to competition?" Heidi challenged.

"Put your two brain cells together and get a clue. You're not competition. You're an annoyance like a small bug. I just gave you your second warning. If you need another that's when I become the exterminator and end you. Are we clear?" Rose had enough.

"Crystal." Heidi scowled.

"Order up." The waiter called from behind me.

"Alice, do me a favor and pay the man. Give him extra for the trouble that's about to happen." I stood up and picked up the pizza in one hand and the pitcher in the other.

"What are you doing?" Alice started to dig in her purse.

I ignored her and started walking.

"Hey, baby, our order is ready." I called out. Rose looked away from Heidi and gave me a confused look.

Her eyes widen as my foot 'caught' on a chair and I tripped. The pizza and then soda flew from my hands and landed all over Heidi.

_Direct hit….I mean….opps…my bad._

She let out an ear-piercing screech. "You, idiot, look at what you have done?" Heidi wailed. She was covered in tomato sauce, cheese and wet from the soda.

"Watch it. It was an accident. His foot got caught on the chair. Everyone here saw it." Rose defended me. "Em, hun, are you okay?" she asked innocently.

"Him?! Is he okay? He ruined my Prada dress." Heidi complained.

"Oh bitch, please. That dress is not Prada. They would never make anything so skanky. You must have gotten that at Sluts R U. And don't even try to pass the shoes off as Louboutin. That is the wrong shade of red, in fact, it looks like you used nail polish." Alice came up beside us.

Heidi cast her a hateful look. She wiggled around uncomfortable. She dug into the top of her dress and two things fell out; something that looked like a Jell-O or gel circular lump and an anchovy.

"Eww. There was a fish in my bra." Heidi looked disgusted.

"At least that identifiable, what's that?" I pointed to the lump.

Heidi looked down and became mortified.

"I think that's a falsie." Jasper snickered.

"You mean she has fake boobs?" I exclaimed, maybe too loud. The restaurant broke out into laughter.

"Oh my god." Heidi ran from the restaurant in embarrassment.

_Aww. She left._

I looked down at the mess that was left and felt slight bad. I turned back to the same guy at the counter.

"Hey, can I get a mop and some paper towels. Sorry about the mess. I'll clean it up." I offered.

"Don't worry about it, man. That girl was a bitch. Have a good night."

"Let's get out of here, before it's you we are bailing out. You two our quite a pair." Jasper laughed.

We walked outside and I pulled Rosie to me in a searing kiss. "That was so hot baby. I've want you so bad now, I don't think we will make it to the club. I may just throw you over my shoulder and bring you to my bed."

"As lovely as that sounds. I want to go dancing, then we can head home." She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Monkey man, you won't be disappointed." She whispered into my ear.

_Yeah_, _Baby!_

**A/N:**

**Many of you asked so here is an outtake for you. I hope you enjoyed it.**


	5. Chapter 4

**I do not own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.**

**Ch. 4**

**(BPOV)**

It was mid-May, and the school year was starting to wind down. The underclassman were getting prepared for finals. While the seniors were getting eager to graduate in a few weeks.

It was a warm and sunny day for Forks when school let out on a Friday. I had become friends with Angela, after the winter holidays. She was a sweet, but quiet girl. We shared similar interest in books. Next year, she would be going to U-Dub too, and we planned on rooming together.

"Are you and Edward going to the prom tomorrow night?" Angela asked as we exited out of the school together.

"He has exams next week, so he's going to be studying all weekend." I explained.

He apologized when he last visited saying that it would be best if I didn't come this weekend. He explained that he needed to study and didn't want me to feel ignored if I went. Of course, I understood without any question.

"But isn't that him right over there?" Angela questioned looking across the parking lot.

Edward was leaning against my truck waiting. My face broke out into a wide grin.

"I'll see you later, Angela." I told her before hurrying across the parking lot.

He smiled when he saw me coming. I rushed over and jumped into his arms then planted a kiss on his mouth; not caring who saw.

I pulled away with a big grin across my face. "Hi!"

"Hello, to you too. Do I even have to ask if you missed me?" He chuckled. He had a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Every single day. I'm looking forward to the Fall when I'm much closer to you." I jumped down.

"I'm looking forward to that too, Beautiful." He took my bag from me.

He tossed it into the back of the truck.

"Why are you here? Not that I'm complaining. But I thought you had to study for exams." I asked.

"I do. I'm going back early Sunday. My first exam isn't until the afternoon on Monday. Why didn't you tell me about the prom?" He looked slightly hurt.

"Because I knew you had to study, and I didn't want you to feel guilty for missing it. Plus, dances aren't really my thing." I shrugged.

"That's a shame, because I came all the way home to take you. Are you sure I can't convince you to go?" he asked sweetly.

"It's a little late now. I don't have a dress or tickets." I gave him an apologetic look. I felt guilty he came all this way for nothing.

He pulled two tickets out of his breast pocket. "I had a little help from your father. He bought them from Principal Greene. As for a dress…." He walked away to his Volvo. "Do you remember how about a month ago Alice measured you, saying she had to make a dress for a final and needed a model?"

"Yes," I nodded.

He opened the back door and pulled out a dress bag, a smaller bag, and a shoe box. "She was really making you a prom dress."

"What?" I was completely shocked.

"I told her I wanted to surprise you. She decided she would make you a dress because, god forbid, you wear something off-the-rack. But, don't ask me what it looks like, I'm not allowed to open the bag. I just know it's green." He rolled his eyes. "So what do you say, Cinderella, do I have a date for the prom? I won't even complain if you step on my feet."

"Hey, I didn't step on your feet when we danced at your parent's party." I pretended to be offended.

"Then you have no excuse, do you?" He smirked.

"This was very sweet of you. I'll love to go with you." I reached up on my toes to kiss his cheek. He put so much work into this, how could I not?

"Good." He pulled away and put the things in my truck. He turned back with a more somber expression. "As much as I would love to spend more time with you, I do need to study too. I was going to head to my parents' and study a little before dinner. My mother has invited you and father to come if you would like. We usually eat about six, if that works for you."

"I would love to come to dinner. I've missed seeing your mother. I'll have to check about Charlie though." I had to change therapists because I was involved with Edward, so I hadn't seen Esme in a while.

"Great. I'll see you later." He pecked me on the lips. He got into his Volvo and drove off.

I turned to get in my truck when someone cleared their throat behind me. I looked behind me to see Tanya standing behind me with her hands on her hips. Surprisingly, without her lackeys.

"Oh, Tanya, how have I missed talking with you," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

Tanya has barely said two words to me since that Christmas party. She was glaring at me now like I ran over her cat.

"What do you want?" I sighed, wanting the unpleasantness out of the way as soon as possible.

"He can't come to the prom. It's for students only," she hissed.

"Actually, we are allowed guests, as long as they are approved by the principal or the assistant principal. And considering he got the tickets from Principal Greene; I think that means he has been approved," I answered.

"He can't be there; he will ruin everything for me. I will make it my first order of business as queen that he will have to leave," she threatened.

"First, even if you do make it as queen, that doesn't come with any sort of real power. Besides, the only way a bitch like you would become queen is if the students here vote for you out of fear, not because they like you. Which in your case, you better keep an eye to the rafters to make sure no one dumps pig's blood on you at your coronation," I retorted back.

"Are you threatening me?" she accused.

"No. You've made a lot of enemies at this school. It could be any number of people, sick of you, like I am." I jumped into my truck and left the parking lot.

I cast any though of her out of my mind. I didn't want her to darken the chance for us to have a great weekend.

**MP**

Early Saturday afternoon, I closed myself up in my room to get ready for the prom. With some tips that I received from Alice and Rose last night, I did my make-up and hair. With special hair gel that Alice had shown me last time I was in Seattle; my hair was now silky and wavy.

I headed to the bag and unzipped it revealing a gorgeous emerald-green dress. The skirt was covered in many layers of sparkly chiffon — that gave the appearance of petals of a flower. The top was a halter style that was a form-fitting satin covered in tiny gems. The dress was almost backless with thin straps that crisscrossed in an intricate pattern across the back.

I got dressed fairly quickly and then found the shoebox. I always saw Alice and Rose in heels so I was a little worried. I flipped the lid off so that it landed on the bed. I smiled when I found a pair of sparkly ballet flats that matched the dress I would have to send a huge thank you to Rose and Alice for everything they did.

About five minutes to five I heard a car pull up outside. I grabbed my clutch and headed downstairs. Charlie was just opening the door when I reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Edward, good to see you." Charlie greeted him.

"Chief," Edward shook his hand.

I paused at the bottom of the steps. He looked so handsome in his tux that I was momentarily stunned. Edward looked over Charlie's shoulder and spotted me on the steps. His eyes widened and his smile grew.

"Bella, you look breathtaking." His eyes shone as he spoke to me.

I felt myself blush. "Thank you."

Charlie stepped aside and turned to me. "He's right, you look all grown up. It's hard to believe that you're same little girl with pig tails and scabs on her knees that I used to take fishing."

"Dad," I felt slightly embarrassed.

Edward smirked but wisely kept his mouth shut.

"These are for you," Edward held a bouquet of red roses.

"They are beautiful. Let me go put them in some water." I took them from him.

"I think even I can handle that. You two go on. Enjoy the dance." Charlie held out his hand for the flowers.

"Thank you, Dad," I kissed his cheek.

"I doubt I have to say it, but try to stay out of trouble." He cleared his throat, he paused.

I rolled my eyes because it was completely unnecessary.

"We will, Sir," Edward promised. He put his arm around my waist and led me to the car.

"Whose car is that?" I stopped in my tracks, looking at the very fancy sports car in the parking lot.

"My dad's special occasion car. It's a Vanquish. He's letting us borrow it tonight." Edward opened the door for me.

"That was very nice of him." I slid in and waited for him to get in on his side. "So where are we going to for dinner?"

Edward smiled sheepishly as he shifted the car into gear. "I hope you don't mind, but I was going to bring you back to my parent's house. I made us dinner and set up the deck for us to eat out there."

"That's so sweet. Much better than the Lodge." I rested my hand over his on the shifter.

**MP**

About an hour-an-half later, we arrived at the prom in the school gym. I was full from the seafood raviolis that Edward made.

Entering the gym I almost wished we had stayed at his house. The deck had been lit with white lights and with the spring flowers out it was a more romantic setting then a gym filled with cheap decorations.

"Do you like our theme? It's Under the Sea. Apparently, it hasn't been done before." I told him sarcastically.

"I wouldn't know. I've never been to a school dance before." He shrugged looking around. "Though, they don't have seemed to have done any research. Some of these aquatic animals don't belong in the same area of an ocean as others." He frowned.

I laughed, because unless a Marine Biologist came here, I'm sure he was the only one who was going to notice or know.

"Come on, let's go get the customary couple picture." I dragged him to a thankfully short line.

Unfortunately, Jessica and Mike were in front of us. Jessica actually became nicer as of recently. She had started to date Mike and no longer saw me as a threat to her.

She looked at us and gave us a small smile. "Hi, Bella. And is it Anthony or Edward?" she asked.

"Edward. Anthony is my middle name. I used it when I was here for my project." Edward answered.

"Yeah, well, I still think it was unfair for you to study us without us knowing." Mike huffed still clearly upset.

Only a few students were upset about it, like Mike and Tanya. Many thought it was cool that our school would've been chosen. Others couldn't have cared less about the whole thing.

"He wouldn't have gotten an accurate study if we all knew about it." I defended Edward.

"Whatever. Come on, Jessica, we are next." Mike grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the shell set up for the pictures.

"Take a seat in the clam shell, please," the photographer sounded bored.

"That's not a clam shell. It has scalloped edges. Clam shell are smooth. That's a scallop." Edward whispered his disapproval.

I giggled and hushed him, before his complaint was overheard. "Let it go."

He sighed and moved us forward as Jessica and Mike finished. Mike got up and walked a few feet away. While Jessica struggled in her dress. The material caught in her shoe and she started to fall. Edward grabbed her quickly before she landed on her face.

She looked up at him in surprise. "Thank you."

"No, problem." Edward let go of her just as Mike came charging back.

"Let go of my girl. Isn't it bad enough you took one from me?" Mike shoved Edward's shoulder.

"He helped me because I almost fell. Don't be a dick, Mike." Jessica frowned as she fought to straighten her dress.

"And for the record I was never yours." I added, taking Edward's hand.

"Whatever, come on Jessica." He stormed away then stopped and waited for her impatiently.

"Thank you, again." Jessica's face was a bit pink.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. My shoe just got stuck in the hem," she mumbled.

"Jessica, stop talking to the retards and let's go." Mike barked.

Jessica's head snapped towards him and she looked furious. She stormed up to him and jabbed a finger into his chest. "I have a cousin with Down's, I find that remark highly offensive." She stepped on his foot hard with her stiletto and stormed away.

Mike hopped on one foot cursing her.

I shook my head when it was Tanya that ran immediately to see if he was okay. Some friend she was.

**MP**

The prom ran fairly smoothly after that. Jessica and Mike glared occasionally at each other, but they were easy to ignore. Edward and I mainly only danced to the slow songs.

We talked to Angela and Ben at a small table. Edward had gotten us some punch, but I didn't care for the taste. He ended up drinking both cups.

It was about mid-way through the dance when the next event happened. It was a fast song so we were sitting out trying to ignore other couples grind on each other. Edward was talking to Ben about the pre-med program at U-Dub.

"Oh. My. Gawd." Angela's jaw dropped.

I whirled around just in time to see Lauren kissing Tanya on the dance floor. _I knew it._

Tanya shoved her off her.

"What are you doing?" Tanya screeched. "I like men not sickos like you!"

"But last night…" Lauren looked confused and little hurt.

"I'm not gay. No one would believe the trash you spew. You make me sick." Tanya cut her off quickly.

"Maybe they believe me. The two of you have been fucking since Halloween. And you certainly seemed to be enjoying yourself." Jessica appeared at Lauren's side, putting her arm around Lauren's waist.

Lauren was in tears now. I actually felt slightly bad for her.

"Liar." Tanya snapped furiously.

The gym had come to a standstill during her tirade. She whirled in a circle until she spotted me.

"This is all your fault. My life was perfect until you came here." She pointed her finger at me.

"No, it's all your fault. You've always been a bitch. Just after she got here, you never got away with it anymore." Jessica defended me surprisingly. "And this? This is my fault." She threw her cup of punch onto to Tanya. "I hate you. You're a two-faced bitch. Lauren deserves better than you."

Jessica led Lauren away as the gym broke out into applause.

Tanya stormed up to Principal Greene who had just came back into the gym carrying a new punch bowl.

"Principal Greene, look at what Jessica Stanley did," she complained.

"That's a shame. Accidents happen. Just send it out for dry cleaning. I'm sure you parents can afford it." He brushed her off leaving her standing there pouting for a moment before storming out of the gym.

"Too bad she's on thin ice with my aunt and uncle." Edward snickered. He had his phone out and appeared to be filming it.

"Did you just film that?" I asked in surprise. It seemed so unlike him.

He nodded and slipped his phone into his pocket. "My Uncle Eleazar asked me to let him know if I ever saw her behave that way again. They were upset when my mother told them how she treated me at the school. They believed her but wanted to see it for themselves."

"May I have your attention, please? It has reached the time to announce the king and queen of the prom." Principal Greene spoke through the microphone near the DJ booth. "I have the results right here. Your prom king is Tyler Crowley." Principal Greene tried to imitate a game show announcer.

Tyler rushed for in a white tux with tie-dye vest and bowtie. "Thank you, thank you very much. King Me!" He could barely hold still enough for Mrs. Cope to put his crown on.

"Think he's high." Ben snickered.

Tyler was an alright guy. He kind of reminded me of a character that Pauly Shore would play in a movie.

"Your prom queen, Isabella Swan."

The announcement left me in shock. I sat still even though everyone around me was clapping and smiling.

"Congratulations, Love," Edward's lips pressed against my cheek.

"Isabella?!" Principal Greene called again.

"She's right here!" Angela yelled out. "Bella, what are you waiting for. Go!"

Edward stood and pulled me to my feet. He started to lead me to the dance floor. I couldn't help but look at the rafters for a bucket.

Mrs. Cope placed a small tiara on my head.

"Now it's customary that the king and queen will share a dance."

I saw out of the coroner of my eye that Edward was frowning. Before I could ask if he was okay with it Tyler grabbed me and started spinning me around.

The only trouble is that it was a slow song, but he was dancing like it was a fast paced one. He was whirling us around faster than I could keep up — spinning me out then spinning me back. I kept tripping over my feet.

People around us were laughing. Edward had his hand over his face trying to control his laughter.

I sent him a look begging him for help.

He took pity on me and stepped forward. He tapped Tyler on the shoulder. "May I cut in?"

Tyler stopped and looked up. "Dude, you're the Mistletoe guy." Tyler reached out his hand to shake Edward's.

Edward gave him a polite smile and nodded.

"Dude, What Isabella did was awesome. I wish I had the guts back then. Tell you what…" he lunged forward and kissed Edward on lips quickly. "There, Dude. Another kiss for your list, my brother."

Tyler started dancing with himself. Within minutes the DJ put on the song "Dancing with Myself" from Billy Idol.

I looked up at Edward who looked shocked and mildly grossed out.

"Should I be jealous?" I giggled.

"Come here," he demanded, pulling me to him.

He leaned down for a kiss. I pushed him away gently.

"Sorry, I don't do sloppy seconds," I teased.

He scowled and pulled me into a kiss that made my toes curl. I wrapped my arms around his neck and raised up on my toes so I could deepen the kiss.

He broke the kiss before we could get into too much trouble. He grinned at me as he fixed my tiara. He placed a kiss on my forehead.

"You look beautiful, your Majesty." He looked at me adoringly.

"Please, I don't know how I managed to be queen. Maybe, everyone's smoking whatever Tyler is." I laughed.

"That's not why. The people here see you like I do — a sweet, caring, and a genuinely good person." He picked up my hand and we started to sway to the beat of the song.

"Only a few of the reasons why I love you." He told me softly.

"I love you, too." I whispered back.

His lips brushed against my lightly.

"Shall we get out of here, your Majesty, and go celebrate your victory." His eyes grew darker as he looked at me.  
>"I would like that." I bit my lip in nodded.<p>

He quietly led me off the dance floor to collect our things then out of the gym.

**A/N:**

**I'll start off saying I don't approve of a very insulting word that Mike used. Proof of that is with Jessica telling him off for using it. I used it only to show what a jerk he was. **

**On a positive note Jessica has done some growing up in this chapter. **

**Karma is starting to catching up with Tanya. I'm sure most of you aren't sorry that happened.**

**Yup, Edward surprised Bella with prom. Only it went over well in this chapter.**

**If you don't know who Pauly Shore is, Google him. Don't ask, you'll only make me feel old. Lol. Encino Man is a good example. **

**Thank You For All Reviews!**

**Next up: Spring break (Bella's 1****st**** year of college)**


	6. Chapter 5

**I do not own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.**

**Ch. 5: Spring Break. (Bella's first year of college, Edward's first of med. school)**

**(EPOV)**

A knock on the door broke me away from my studying. I stretched and headed for the door. I opened it and found my beautiful girlfriend on my doorsteps with two bags at her feet.

"Bella, what a surprise. Is there a problem at the dorm?" I picked up her bags and brought them in.

She gave me a strange look then kissed my cheek.

"Are you being funny?" she asked curiously.

She glanced around the room with a tiny frown then looked back at me. "Where's your stuff? Aren't you ready to go?"

"Go where?" I became confused.

The smile left her face and she frowned at me. "To go to Florida, to visit my mother for Spring Break. Remember? You promised to come with me after you cancelled at Christmas." She looked annoyed. "Come on, the plane is in a couple of hours. I'll help you pack." She sighed and headed to my bedroom.

I followed behind her slowly. I had forgotten completely about the trip. I hated that I was about to disappoint her, again.

"Bella?" I stood in the doorway. I became momentarily distracted, seeing her hold a bunch of my boxers in her hand.

"Why are you moving so slowly? Grab a suitcase or duffle bag, whatever you use," she sound exasperated. She turned and froze when she looked at my face.

"You aren't coming, are you?" she whispered dejectedly.

"I'm sorry, Love. I have to study," I answered.

She rolled her eyes. "You always have to study. Bring your books with you."

"I can't. I need to stay here. I need access to the library," I explained.

She opened my dresser drawer and tossed the boxers back in. She slammed the drawer shut. "Do you have something against meeting my mother? This is the third time, Edward. Granted, I can't blame you for the first time. She's the one that mixed up the dates for my graduation. I understood when you backed out, because you felt guilty about leaving your own family at Christmas. But now you can't seriously take a couple days off to come with me. I don't get very many chances to see her, and I want her to meet you," she pleaded. "Not to mention, I feel like I barely see you recently. I saw more of you last year when I was still in Forks."

"No, I don't have anything against meeting your mother." I promised. "School is the most important thing in my life, right now. This exam is worth thirty percent of my grade, and the professor didn't even pass out a study guide, so I have to really buckle down and study everything." I ran my hand roughly through my hair tugging on it.

She was silent for a moment. She crossed her arms across her chest and shrugged. "I understand," she answered flatly.

"I promise this summer we will make a trip down there. I have a week off before summer classes start. I'll even pay to fly us both down there." I promised.

She scoffed, but nodded. "Don't start making promises again."

"I won't back out, again. I swear. Please, don't be mad, Beautiful. I don't want you leaving so upset with me." I walked over to her and reached for her hand.

I pulled her hand gently away from her and brought it to my lips and kissed it. "I'm sorry. Please, don't be mad."

Her face softened and she gave me a small smile. "I'm not mad. Just disappointed."

I leaned down to kiss her. She responded after a moment, wrapping her arms around my neck. I held her close to me and I could feel her curve around me.

"I should go. I don't want to miss my plane." She pulled away from me.

"Hold on, I'll get my keys and bring you to the airport." I checked my pockets for my keys.

"Don't worry, a taxi is supposed to be here any minute to take me. I thought it was best, so your car wasn't left at the airport while we were gone." She kissed my lips lightly. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. Call me when you land, okay. I'll pick you up at the airport when you come home, okay. Maybe, we can get dinner that night."

"Okay," she agreed with a hopeful smile.

**MP**

Early the next morning, I arrived at the library, the campus was eerie with how dead it was. I pulled on the library door and found it locked. Frowning I double checked the times. Next to the normal hours it was posted reduced hours for spring break. It wasn't expected to be open until one.

I sighed and stepped back from the door, running my hand through my hair.

_There goes that idea._

"Mr. Cullen?" I turned to see one of my professors behind me. I almost didn't recognize him dressed down.

"Dr. Volutri, how are you, sir?" I asked.

"I'm fine. Forgot something in my office that I needed over vacation. What are you doing here rather than Cancun, or wherever it is, you youngsters go these days?" he asked.

"I stayed behind to study, sir, for the test after vacation." I answered wanting him to see my dedication.

He frowned slightly. "I see, but you have over two weeks once you get back to worry about that. I won't be passing out the study guide for it until we get back. Judging how well you have been doing in class though, I don't think you have anything to worry about."

He sighed and took a step closer. "May I offer you some advice, Mr. Cullen?"

"Yes, Professor." Welcoming any guidance.

"Enjoy your vacations while you can. Soon you'll be buried deep in medical school and then a residency at a hospital. Your free time will diminish greatly.

Truth is, I wish I had more students as hardworking as you. But the one fault of a being hardworking student, is they don't always remember to take breaks before they burn out," he advised me.

"I understand what you are saying, sir. Thank you." I nodded.

"Good. I'll see _next_ _week_, Mr. Cullen." He smiled and strolled off to the parking lot.

I pulled out my cell phone and glanced at it. Bella texted me when she arrived in Florida last night. So I knew she got there okay, but I still wish I could've heard her voice.

She had claimed in her text she didn't want to interrupt my studying.

I was starting to feel like that I screwed up again.

I called the airline, getting a ticket for the first flight out to Jacksonville.

**MP**

The earliest I could get into Jacksonville was about ten at night. I tried to call Bella before I got on the plane but the call went to voicemail. I decided to surprise her and didn't let her know I was coming.

I got the house number from Charlie and I did call Renée when I realize how late I would be. She was very warm and friendly on the phone, so I took it that as Bella couldn't be too upset with me.

By the time I pulled up to the house I was tired from traveling. The door opened and a women stepped out and gave me a wave. She looked like a grown-up version of Bella, so I assumed she had to be Renée.

"Welcome to our humble abode. You must be Edward, I recognize you from Bella's pictures. She's going to be so happy to see you. Come in, come in." She waved me in.

"I have to apologize, you'll have to meet Phil tomorrow. It's the middle of the training season and he's already in bed." Renée explained in a quiet voice.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't get here sooner, I hope I'm not being an inconvenience." I apologized.

"Nonsense. I'm glad you could make it. Go on out back. Bella is out there with some friends. I'll take your bags to Bella's room."

"Um… thank you, but…" I was caught off-guard she was letting us share a room.

She rolled her eyes and laughed reminding me of Bella. "I know that you two are sleeping together. I'm not that far behind the times, like my ex-husband. I'm fine with it as long you're both being careful." She smirked. "Now go. I know she's has been missing you, she's been moping around since I picked her up at the airport. But don't tell her I said that."

"Thank you, Renée." I smiled shyly.

I went towards the back and I heard laughter. Not just any laughter but Bella's. She didn't sound miserable.  
>I stepped out unnoticed out on to the deck. Bella was on the beach playing volleyball with three guys. She was in a tank top and shorts. I saw hints of a bikini under her top. The guy she was playing with was shirtless and wearing board shorts. His blonde hair was in a ponytail and he looked fairly athletic.<p>

I started to make my way on to the each and stood to watch for a few minutes. The ball was difficult to see since it was dark out. But they were using the flood lights from the back of the house to give them some visibility.

She seemed to be having fun and looked so carefree playing. It was starting making me feel ill watching her have a great time with another guy. He scored and whipped her up off her feet into a hug and spun her around. She laughed and squealed.

Suddenly, he threw her over his shoulder and headed for the ocean. She started to yell and hit his back.

"James, put me down right now. Don't you dare? James!" she yelled.

"Hey, let her go. She told you to put her down." I lost my temper and went after him. My fists were balled at my side.

Bella's head shot up and she looked at me. "Edward?!"

The guy turned and had the audacity to smile at me. "Dude, you made it. We've been keeping your girl company."  
>"I can see that. Can you put her down now?" I asked, not liking at all that her ass was right next to this guy's head.<p>

"Sure, chill out, man. We were just having some fun." James shrugged and placed Bella on her feet.

She whirled around and threw her arms around my neck. "You're here. Why are you here?"

"I'm starting to wonder that myself." I mumbled under my breath.

"What do you mean?" Bella pulled back frowning.

"Bells, we'll see you tomorrow." James called to her. He and his friends headed off down the beach.

Bella acknowledged them with a wave, and turned back to me. She looked at me in confusion.

"I didn't force you to come. So why do you sound so mad?" she asked.

"Who was that guy that had his hands all over you?" I demanded.

She looked insulted. She turned to look at the guys retreating forms.

"His name is James. He's Phil's younger brother. And he didn't have his hands all over me. He was just goofing around," she explained.

"That's not what it looked like." I insisted.

"Well, if you don't want to believe me, you can go ask James boyfriend, Victor, and see what he thinks about it?" she huffed. "But I can't see why you won't believe me. I guess you don't trust me any." She looked hurt.

I felt like a heel. I took a couple of deep breaths and calmed myself down.

"Bella…" I started but she shook head.

"What the hell, Edward? Do you honestly think I would cheat on you?" she asked in exasperation.

I was overwhelmed with guilt for acting so irrationally that I couldn't speak right away, and she took it as confirmation. Her eyes welled with tears, she turned and started to walk away.

"Bella?" I called out after her.

She didn't stop but stooped down to pick up the ball and continued on to the porch. She tossed it in a box by the stairs before closing it and sitting on the box. She wrapped an arm around her waist and her other hand wiped away her tears.

"Bella," I begged.

"What, Edward?" she whispered sounding heartbroken.

I fell to my knees, in the sand, in front of her. "I'm sorry. Of course, I don't think you would cheat on me. I acted irrationally. I saw red when I saw him touch you."

She just continued to watch me silently.

"I just saw you having so much fun with them. And I've never seen you laugh like that or seem like you have that much fun with me." I tugged at my hair.

I waited a minute because this was where Bella usually made me feel better. But she still remained silent and I worried if I really screwed up.

"Bella, please say something? I'm sorry, please, forgive me. Do you have fun with me?" I begged.

"You know it hurts that you even have to ask that? We've been together for over a year. Are you really still doubting my feelings for you and that I love you?" She looked pissed off. "Because if you are, I'm not sure what more I can do to convince you that I do." Bella sniffled.

A bit of my heart sunk.

"I understood in the beginning about your insecurities. I knew that being in a relationship was all new to you. But it was all new to me too, you know. I understood when you forgot about Valentine's Day and the situation with Heidi. I understand you are very dedicated to your studies. I've tried to understand and stay positive when you made plans with me and then cancel at the last second.

But what I can't understand is how you could even think for a minute that I would be unfaithful to you or could ask if I enjoy spending time with you." Tears streamed down her face. "Because if you can question it, I failed as your girlfriend somewhere down the line." She sobbed.

I watched horrified for a minute that I made her cry. She had always been the strong one in our relationship and now I caused her to doubt us and herself.

"Bella, you've done nothing…." I started searching for words, she winced.

"I mean, you've done nothing wrong. Nothing for me to doubt you. Crap!" I ran hand through my hair.

"You've been a perfect girlfriend." I reached for the hand around her waist. "I'm the one who has messed up. Why would you think it was you?"

She let me take her hand and stared at them joined together for a moment.

"You're not the only you who gets self-doubts at times. I get them too. I understand school is the most important thing to you right now. I'm not saying studying isn't important, but you repeatedly make plans with me then cancel the last minute or even forgot about our plans completely. Every time you do it stings more and more, and I've start to wonder where I fall in your life. I sometimes feels like an afterthought." She admitted.

I could tell she had been holding this in for a long time.

"I love you. You're everything to me." I insisted.

"No, I'm not." She shook her head.

"Then that's my fault, not yours. I got so caught up trying to stay ahead in my studies and setting a good impression with my professors that I've neglected you for a while and took you for granted. I would be lost without you. I'm sorry for only now realizing that. I guess I've answered my own question if I make you happy and if you have fun with me." I placed my head in my hands. "God, I don't want to lose you." I whispered under my breath.

I prayed that it wasn't too late to save this. I felt her fingers start to play with my hair. I chanced a look up at her and she awarded me with a watery smile.  
>"You're not going to lose me. You do make me happy. And I do have fun with you," she spoke quietly.<p>

"But not lately. Why didn't you tell me this before? I asked if you were mad before you left and you said no." I asked, trying to understanding.

"I didn't want to be one of those girlfriends that made you feel guilty or caused a fuss for not paying attention to them. Even though I was mad, I knew I would get over it, so I didn't want to make it an issue." She shrugged.

"But you have been holding it inside. That's not good either or fair to you. Next time, tell me when I mess up. I don't want to be the guy that gets so overworked that he forgets about the other important things in life. And you are on the top of that list. I should've come with you when you asked." I vowed that I had to be better from now on. I may not get another chance like this.

"You're here now." She smiled softer now. She didn't look as upset.

"Please, don't do that, Beautiful. Because I hurt you, and it shouldn't be swept under the rug. You've forgiven me more than I should've been. I will make this up to you and be a more attentive boyfriend. Will you give me that chance?" I held my breath nervously as I waited for her response.

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry for…" I place a finger over her lips.

"Will you stop apologizing?" I sighed. She did nothing wrong.

"Sor…"

I stopped her with a kiss. She made a tiny of squeal of surprise before she kissed me back.

"Bella, are you out here?" Renée called out.

Bella pulled away from me. "Yes."

"I'm going to bed, make sure you lock-up. Good-night. See you two in the morning."

"Good-night." Bella called back.

"Good-night, Renée. Thank you again for everything." I looked up towards the house in the direction of her voice.

"You're welcome."

I heard the door close a moment later.

"Did she know you were coming?" Bella asked.

"I called her and told her I wanted to surprise you. It worked well with prom, I thought I would take another chance." I admitted sheepishly.

"I had a great time that night. And for the record, I do have fun with you. I love the times we spend together curled up a couch and watching movies. I love making dinner for you and watching you eat it. What you saw earlier was nothing to worry about even if they were straight and unattached. They were goofing around trying to make me laugh since I was depressed earlier from missing you."

"But." She continued. "You're here now. So I hope we can enjoy Florida around your studying."  
>"You have me for the whole week. My professor saw me before I left and told me to take the week off. He said even the best students need to take a break so they don't get burned out. So I'm all yours."<p>

She grinned and stood up. "First, you look tired and need some rest. We can start tomorrow." She led me back on to the deck. She turned off the flood light by a switch on the side of the house.

I looked up and was amazed by all the stars I could see now.

"Wow, that's amazing. I don't think I ever really seen the stars like this," I commented.  
>She hugged my waist and looked up. "You never star gazed before?"<p>

I shook my head. She grabbed my hand pulled me to a lounge chair.

"Sit," she ordered.

I sat down and laid back. She climbed on and curled into me so that her head was on my chest. We both were quiet as we looked at the night sky. Her finger traced invisible shapes on my shirt.

"I'm worried about the next few years," I said quietly.

"Why?" Bella asked shifting so she could look at me.

"I'm worried that if I get too caught up in my studies now, what it might means when the classes get harder or when I start my residency, my free time will diminish even more," I explained. I started to rub her arms, because they felt chilly.

"I'm not going anywhere." She promised. "We will find a way. I only ask that you don't make promises to do something and keep breaking them. If you think you may have to study say something beforehand, don't wait to the day of."

"I can do that. But I don't think that's enough. What do you think about living together? That way we will at least be sharing a bed every night. Well, every night I don't work when it gets to that point." I held my breath waiting for her answer.

"I would love to live with you." Bella grinned then kissed my jaw.

I moved my head and meet her lips with a sweet kiss. The kiss quickly changed and became more heated. I slipped my hand up her shirt and cupped her breasts. My thumb rubbed over her hardened nipple. She moaned into my mouth. She shifted until she straddled me.

She pulled away and sat back just enough that her shorts rubbed against my erection.

"You know the one positive thing about fighting is the make-up sex." She licked her lips.

She reached down and pulled up her tank top. She tossed it away then reached for the bikini string.

"Here," I gasped in shock. My body became more excited, but my mind was running interference.

"Why not? No one will see, it's too dark out."

The top loosened and her breasts pooped out. My hands immediately gravitated to them like magnets. She tilted her head back pushing them out and she grinded down at me.

She looked at me with lust in her eyes.

"I'm going to ride you, right here," she demanded huskily.

She lifted up slightly and quickly got rid of her shorts. I tossed off my shirt and I felt her hands on my pants and she pulled them down.  
>She teased me by hovering over me, just barely touching me.<p>

"Please, Beautiful, don't tease me." I begged, reaching out for her hips.

She grinned and lowered herself on to me. I moaned as I felt her all around me. She started to move and I lost myself in her.

**A/N:**

**A bit of stumble in this chapter but they worked it out. **

**James is not a threat in this story. He has a bit of bad rep. in stories so I don't want you to worry.**

**Up Next: Bella will visit Edward at the Hospital. (While he's still a student).**

**Thank You For All Reviews!**

**My story Left Behind in up for ten top fics. of the month. Please vote, if you get a chance. **


	7. Chapter 6

**I do not own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.**

**Ch 6**

**BPOV (Fall of Bella's senior year and Edward's fourth year medical school.)**

I headed nervously into the hospital and looked around for signs of Edward. He was near the end of a thirty hour shift, I hated to bother him, but I had to talk to him about something important. We barely saw each other since school started, usually at night, when we both collapsed into bed at night.  
>If I waited I might lose my nerve. He was in the middle of his ER rotation so I knew he had to be around the area.<p>

I walked up to the reception desk where a middle aged women was busy typing at a computer.

"Excuse me…" I started to ask.

"Fill out a form and wait for your number to be called." She picked up a clipboard and handed it to me without looking up.

"But, I'm looking…" I started again.

"Sorry, but you have to wait your turn, Miss, just like everyone else," she said again.

"Bella, are you looking for Edward?"

I looked up to see Kate, a tall blond nurse, standing at the desk. She placed a clipboard down and picked up a new one. I've met her a couple of times. Her boyfriend Garrett was Edward's mentor here at the hospital.

"Hi, Kate. Yes, I'm looking for Edward. I really need to talk to him? Is he busy with a patient right now?" I asked her, knowing she would be more of a help to me.

"I just saw him in the lounge finishing up on some paperwork. If you go down this hallway, it's the third door on the left." She smiled at me.

"Thank you." I passed her and made my way to the room.

I entered and found Edward working at a table and a nurse had her hand on his shoulder and was acting flirty with him. Poor Edward seemed tense and was leaning away from her.

"Excuse me, but patients aren't allowed in here." She looked up at me with a glare.

"I'm not a patient." I responded back. I bit my tongue from saying anything further to not embarrass Edward at his place of work.

His head shot up when he heard my voice. He smiled but he looked exhausted. I felt guilty immediately. Maybe I should've waited.

"Hey, Beautiful, this is a surprise. I'm almost finished then I'm free." He stretched slightly and yawned.

"I needed to talk to you about something, but I just realized it probably should wait," I apologized.

"Don't go. Keep me company. Could you excuse us, please, Irina?" He hinted to the girl that was still standing there.

"Of course." She looked at me sizing me up before leaving.

"Come sit." He patted the chair next to him.

I walked over and sat next to him. He took a sip of his coffee and set the mug down in front of him. He adjusted his glasses before kissing me chastely.

"Would you like some coffee?" He offered.

I shook my head. "No, thank you. You look tired. Were you able to get any sleep?" I asked in concern.

"It's was a busy night that carried on into the day, so no, not really." He admitted. "You look tired too or are you worried about something, is everything okay?"

"No. I'm late," I told him.

He frowned and ran his hand through his hair. "Did I forget something, again? Did we have plans?" The poor guy look so confused and started to get upset with himself. He had tried so hard since Spring Break over two years ago not to forget about plans.

"Not that type of late. Late as in my period. I might be pregnant," I explained.

His eye widen and the pen dropped out of his hand. "How late are you?"

"A week," I answered.

I could see the gears moving in his head. "Wow, okay that's definitely late. Have you ever been that late before?" He seemed to be calculating in his head as he switched over into a doctor's mode.

I shook my head. "I took two different at home pregnancy tests. One came out positive, the other negative."

"Were the expiration dates good on them?" he asked.

He took my hand with his and held it.

"I didn't think to check. I wasn't aware they had expiration dates." I bit my lip feeling foolish.

"Okay. Any nausea or suddenly feeling sick to your stomach?" he questioned. I noticed he discreetly was trying to take my pulse.

I shook my head.

He looked down at my breast and then reached out to feel them. "They look the same. Are they tender?"

"What are you doing?" I looked at his hand. Normally, I didn't have a problem with him touching me, but this felt more like an exam then sexual.

The door opened and Kate walked in. She saw us and her eyebrow raised to her hairline.

"Am I interrupting something?" she snickered, heading to the coffee area.

"I'm just checking them out for differences." Edward dropped his hands quickly.  
>I'm sure my face was bright red.<p>

"Sure, that's what they all say." Kate smirk grew.

"Can you get Garrett? I would like him to exam Bella," Edward asked her.

"Why? He's not touching my breasts." I hissed at Edward.

Kate's smirk fell. "Is everything okay? Bella did you find something that you're concerned about? I can get a female doctor instead, Dr. Lang is here too."

"I think I'm pregnant," I answered blushing.

"Oh," Kate looked relieved. She turned to Edward with another smirk. "You know there are other ways — better ways — to test for pregnancy, Edward," she teased.

"I know that. I want to order a blood test to check," Edward told her, rolling his eyes. His ears turned bright red though.

"I'll get right on that and I'll get Garrett to sign off on it. I'll be right back."

She took her coffee and left the room.

"Why blood? Can't I just pee on another stick?" I begged. I hated needles.

"You could. But a blood test would be more accurate," he explained.

"I'm sorry, can you stop talking like a doctor for a minute, and talk to me as my boyfriend." I begged, feeling overwhelmed.

He was being so formal with me that it wasn't helping the situation. I wanted to know how he felt about all this.

"I'm sorry, Love. Come here." He pulled me on to his lap. He hugged me close to him and kissed my cheek. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I don't know, it's a mix of feeling overwhelmed and feeling shocked. What are we going to do?"

"We will figure out something though. My parents had me when they were in their final year of school and they made it work," he sounded confident.

"Yeah, well, my parent had me very young too, and it was the kiss of death to their relationship," I muttered.

He lifted my chin so I was looking him in the eyes. "I love you and if you're pregnant with our baby that is a blessing. Maybe the baby won't be coming at the perfect time, but I'm not going anywhere and I'll be ready for the challenge. The other alternatives are't even a consideration."

I smiled back at him blinking back tears. I kissed his cheek in relief. I was afraid he was going to freak out on me. "I would never consider the other alternatives. We are getting ahead of ourselves. We don't know for sure yet."

"I know, but if you are, I'm going to be very happy that you're going to have our baby. If you're not, I can't wait for the day that you are." He smiled shyly.

"I'm glad you're taking this so well. But if I'm not, I'd rather wait until after I finish school and we are married." I rested my head on his shoulder.

"We're getting married?" He smiled crookedly, his eyes looked amused.

"I don't know. You will have to ask me one day and find out." I shot right back.

He chuckled and kissed me lightly again. He rested his forehead against mine.

"So this would have happened around the end of summer, right before school started. I know we haven't used condoms in a long time since you were on the shot. Did you miss a renewal or have you taken any antibiotics?" he asked.

"No. Nothing I can think of. I can't think of anything I did that would have compromised my birth control." I bit my lip.

"I'm not saying you did. Just trying to figure it out what might have happened." He calmed me by rubbing my arm.

"It would be your fault. Wearing those glasses around the house." I accused teasingly.

"My fault. What about you wearing a bikini around the house claiming you have nothing to wear since it is laundry day?" He raised one eyebrow and smirked at me.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." I shrugged, hiding my smug grin.

He laughed just as the door opened and Kate came back in followed by Garrett.

"I've come to take your blood," he announced jokingly.

I groaned and curled back into Edward. He kissed the side of my head and chuckled.

"Don't worry, it'll be over before you know it." Kate promised putting the tray down on the table. "Roll up your sleeve. I'll get you ready." She pulled out an elastic band and I extended my arm then looked away.

"I would like to ask you a few questions. How late are you?" Garrett asked.

"A week."

"Besides the late period, any symptoms. Like tiredness, vomiting, nausea, food aversions, or headaches. I heard Edward took care of your breasts," he chuckled.

We both turned a bright pink.

"Make a fist," Kate commented.

"Mostly no to all questions. I've been tired, but I also have been putting in a lot of hours at school and a part-time job," I answered. "I took two different home pregnancy tests and they had different results."

Edward grumbled something about not liking my job, but I ignored it for now. I knew he would rather that I would let him take care of me.

"Okay. When was your last check-up that included a pap-smear?" he asked.

"Two months ago and everything came back normal." I blushed slightly embarrassed.

Garrett nodded. "Sounds good. We will just run a few additional tests. But it's not unusual for stress to cause you to skip."

"Done."

I felt the band release my arm and a slight pressure to my inner elbow as gauze was taped down. Kate was holding a small vile of blood.

"How did you…" I looked at my arm then at her in shock. I never felt a thing.

"I let his boring questions distract you." She winked.

"We'll get this to the lab. You can wait here. Edward, aren't you supposed to be off? Remember you can't work more than thirty hours straight on-call as a student. " Garrett checked the clock.

"I just need to finish up the notes on this last patient and I'm done," he answered.

"If you want you can either wait here or I can give you a call when the results come in. If it's anything major you can come right back. Though, I don't think you have to worry about it."

I glanced at Edward briefly. He looked ready to fall asleep sitting up.

"Since you said it's alright, I think we will leave." I decided.

"Okay, Edward, go home as soon as you're done." Garrett nodded.

"Don't you want to go over it with me?" Edward asked.

"You're always meticulous with your notes. If there is any problems I'll call you," Garrett called over his shoulder as he left the room.

I slid off his lap.

"I need about five minutes, Love." He went back to work.

**MP**

We made it home to the condo about half-an-hour later. Edward still was yawning as he came through the door.

"Why don't you go take a nap or something, while I make dinner?" I suggested.

"I wouldn't be able to sleep until we heard from Garrett. I'm going to take a shower though." His stomach let out a loud rumble.

"Would you like me to make you something to eat?" I offered.

"Please." He kissed my cheek. "I'm not picky. Anything would work right now."

He placed his phone on the counter. "Go ahead and answer it if Garrett calls."

He disappeared down the hallway and I pulled things out of the fridge to make a simple chicken stir-fry.

I had just finished browning the chicken when Edward's cell rang.

"Hello, Edward Cullen's phone," I answered.

"Hi, am I speaking with Bella?"

"Yes." I turned down the stove so I could concentrate on the call.

"Bella, this is Garrett. I have the results of your test. You're not pregnant at this time. But something did show up on the test," he explained.

"How bad is it?" I bit my lip.  
>Edward's arms came around my waist surprising me. I jumped and looked up at him. He gave a small smile, but he looked worried.<p>

"Nothing to be too concerned about. Your iron levels were low, which might be a reason why you're tired. So a good supplement will help boost those levels. I would recommend some Vitamin E too," he answered.  
>Edward sighed with relief behind me and placed a small kiss on my neck.<p>

"Okay, thank you for helping us out today." I expressed my gratitude.

"You're welcome. Maybe we can double again some night. Kate's been on my case about that," he replied.

"We would like that." I agreed.

I hung up and I sighed placing his phone down.

"Not pregnant." I turned back to the stove.

I glanced over my shoulder at Edward who was still standing behind me. He looked almost disappointed.

"You really wanted me to be, didn't you?" I commented as I went back to adding the vegetables and sauce.

He shrugged and smiled shyly. "I was starting to warm up to the idea."

He was still holding me very close to him. His lips started placing kisses on my neck. I giggled and squirmed away from him

"Hey, I'm trying to cook. The last time you did that I ended up burning dinner into a black mess," I scolded lightly.

He grinned sheepishly and backed away.

"You never said how you felt if you were pregnant," he commented lightly.

"I told you I felt overwhelmed and shocked," I answered.

"I know, but what if you were pregnant. Would you've been happy?" He pushed.

I glanced at him and read between the lines. He was feeling slightly unsure.

I placed the spoon down and turned off the burner. I stepped between his legs and placed my arms around his neck.

"When I realized I was late I felt a mixture of things. But not once did I think I didn't want this or want the baby. When I was waiting for the results, I closed my eyes and I was picturing a sweet little baby boy that looked just like his daddy. When I looked at the first results and saw the double, I was happy. Most of my nerves melted away. I immediately started to think of ways to tell you that you're going to be a daddy.

Then I saw the results of the second test and it was negative, and I never felt so disappointed. I think it was then I realized how much I wanted to have your baby." I reached up on my toes to kiss his cheek.

"And someday, I would be a happy to have your baby. But at the same time, I am bit relieved that we have more time to be ready. Okay?"

He nodded.

"Were you thinking I didn't want a baby with you?" I asked.

"No, it's just we never talked about it. It just woke me up to that fact." He shrugged.  
>I served up our dinner and handed him a plate.<p>

"I guess I just never thought about it. I just assumed we would talk about when we were ready." I took a seat at the table.

"The easiest place for me to do my residency would be here in Seattle since there are several hospital. But if you want to move back to Forks, I can talk to my father about doing a residency there or maybe at Port Angeles."

"I can do either. Since I want to work at a daycare, I may have better luck in Seattle or Port Angeles. If and when we have children, I can find one that will allow me to bring the baby to work," I responded.

"You could open your own in Forks." Edward suggested.

"I would have to have the money for that. Which I don't at the moment. And I will already be paying back school loans, so I don't want to take more out." I shook my head.

"I could give you the money. I can pay off your school loans." Edward insisted; it wasn't the first time he had suggested it.

"We've talked about this before. I appreciate your offer, but I don't feel right accepting." Praying this didn't get us into another argument.

"But if we were married it would be your money too." His mouth twitched into a frown.

"If we get married, I will take it into consideration. But, Edward, haven't you ever felt that you had to do things on your own. That it isn't that you don't appreciate someone wanting to help you. That you just felt the need to do things on your own." I implored.

He thought for moment as he chewed. He finally nodded. "I understand. It is one of the reason I've wanted to go elsewhere than Forks. It want to be a doctor without anyone comparing me to my dad." He wiped his mouth with his napkin and placed it down. "Promise me though, you wouldn't be too stubborn to ask me for help if you need it." He looked me in the eye.

"I promise to ask you, if I need help." I agreed. I took a sip of my water and cleared my throat. "Have you decided which branch you like to go into?" I changed the subject.

"I haven't worked in every field yet, but I do have one I liked so far," he answered shyly.

"Well are you going to tell me or do I have to guess?" I smiled.

"I like working with kids and babies." He shrugged. "I…." he paused.

"You…" I prompted.

"I was thinking I would want to end up in a clinic instead of hospital. It's not as much money, especially if I have to start up my own. I'm not sure what my dad will think about that." There was a smaller glimmer in his eyes as he spoke about it.

"Your father strikes me as someone who would be supportive." I was surprised by his worry.

"True. I just might be overthinking it." He nodded.

"I think you'd make a wonderful pediatrician. Think of all the money we will safe on doctor visits." I smiled at him.  
>He chuckled. "There is that. I'm sure with eight children one is bound to be always sick."<p>

I choked on my water.  
>"Bella, are you okay." He started to get up, looking concerned.<p>

I held up my hand. "Eight?"

"I always wanted a brother or sister, so I would hope for more than one." He gave me a pouty look.

"So you jump to eight." I laughed.

"Six?" he suggested with a grin.

"How about two to three?" I countered.

"I can live with that." He smiled teasingly.

"The other great thing about you a pediatrician is, I won't have to worry about you feeling up other women's boobs to figure out if they are pregnant." I started laughing.

Edward's face turned pink and smiled guilty at me. "Sorry, I'm not sure why I did that. But to be fair, I think I would notice better than anyone if your boobs grew bigger."

I snorted and threw my napkin at him. He ducked out of the way and laughed.

"I got the dishes. Want to choose a movie?" Edward stood up.

"Edward, you looked dead on your feet. Are you sure you don't want to go to sleep?" I hesitated.

"I'll be fine. I don't want to go to sleep too early and throw off my schedule." He insisted.  
>He already started clearing off the table.<p>

"Okay, if you insist." I got up.

I headed to the living room and scanned the shelves. I picked a Batman movie since I thought the action would keep him awake.

I settled on the couch with a blanket. He brought in two sodas and a bowl of popcorn a few moments later. He placed them on the coffee table and sat next to me.

About ten minutes into the movie, I turned to him and he was asleep sitting up. I shook my head and reached over to take off his glasses. I placed them on the coffee table.

With some maneuvering I managed to get him lying down on the couch. I curled into him and turned off the movie. I cuddle into him and fell asleep.

**A/N: A small pregnancy scare. I only call it scare, since it caught them off-guard and she wasn't pregnant. At least, that brought up a conversation they need to have.**

**Up next contains a bit of the epilogue from the contest, it has been extended. There will be a new epilogue now. **

**Thank You For All Reviews!**


	8. Epilogue

**Epilogue:**

**Christmas Eve (Bella's 4****th**** year in college and Edward's 4****th**** in medical school.)**

I arrived home carrying a small bag in my hands. After my last exam, I went shopping. I bought something special for Edward to celebrate. Our lives have become busy, with him being in his fourth year of medical school, and my final year at U-Dub.

I opened the door to find that he had gotten home before me. The room was decorated with white lights that casted a dim glow and all the furniture had been pushed away. Hanging from the ceiling, in the center of the room, was a kissing ball covered in mistletoe. A glittering from it caught my eye. I stepped forward, slowly trying to examine it closer.

"Edward?" I called out in the quiet room. I got no response, so I stepped right underneath the kissing ball and looked up. There was a ring dangling from the mistletoe, not just a ring, but a diamond one, accented with sapphires, my birthstone. I dropped my bag at my feet, covering my mouth with my hand. The room filled with the song "It Must Have Been the Mistletoe."

"Bella?" Edward appeared at my side. I stopped looking up at the kissing ball, and turned towards him. "Please, tell me these are happy tears." He brushed the tears from my cheeks.

I nodded as I looked him up and down. The tears slid down more when I noticed what he was wearing. He was wearing his glasses with a bowtie and the Santa's Hat with Mistletoe was on his head, looking like the adorkable boy that I fell in love with. Only his hat didn't read 'kiss me'; it read 'Marry me?'

"Isabella Marie Swan, will you marry me?" he asked quietly as he got down to one knee. He started to look nervous when I didn't answer right away. But I was so caught up with my emotions I had trouble getting the words out.

"Yes." I nodded. I leaned down and kissed him.

His arms wrapped around me and he stood up before he spun us in a circle. He placed me gently on my feet. He reached up with both hands so he could untie the knot on the ribbons that held the ring. He then took my left hand in his, raising it to his chest level, and, while keeping eye contact, he slid the ring on. He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it lightly. I rested my hand over his heart, and leaned in for a heart-stopping kiss. The kind that always left me breathless with my heart pounding when we were done.

"The ring is beautiful. I love you so much and I will be happy to be your wife." I rested my head against his chest while I caught my breath. I closed my eyes, already planning to show him how 'happy' in less than five minutes.

"The others are at a bar, we can go tell them our news," Edward suggested.

"Text them, or we can tell them tomorrow." I bent down and picked up my bag. "I've got a Christmas present for you that can't wait." I waved the tiny bag.

Edward eyed the swinging bag with curiosity. He reached for it, but I hid it behind my back.

I grinned slyly. "Not yet, I'll be right back." I kissed his cheek and disappeared into our bedroom.

I changed into a sheer white baby doll that had been embroidered with mistletoe in all the right spots. I stepped out of the bedroom and waited in the doorway. He had his shirt off with his phone to his ear, so I waited for him to see me.

"I asked and she said…" He looked up at that moment with a smile. His eyes widened once he spotted me. "Fuck me." He dropped his phone and strode over to me.

I let out a laugh. "Please tell me that was one of our friends, and not our parents, that you just said that my answer to your marriage proposal was 'fuck me'."

"Huh?" He looked over his shoulder to his abandoned phone. "Shit. That was Jasper, he's not going to be happy with me." He glanced back at me guiltily. His hands traced my body feeling every curve. "You distracted me. You look gorgeous, Love."

"I'm glad you like it. You have to kiss under all this mistletoe. Feel up to it?" I palmed his erection with my hand. He moaned as he twitched against my hand.

"Always." He swung me up and carried me to the center of the room. I noticed he set up a pillow and blankets on the floor under the kissing ball. He laid me down first then removed his pants, tossing them to the side. He hovered over me, settling between my legs.

"Wait," I stopped him, he paused. I stretched to the side, to grab the hat off the floor that he had abandoned and placed it on his head. "Perfect." I gave him a silly grin. He shook his head in amusement, tickling my nose with mistletoe. I let out a small giggle.

"Are you ready, love? Because once I start, there's going to be no stopping me," he warned, his eyes darkened.

"I'm ready. Merry Christmas, Edward. I love you." I placed my hand to his cheek and he kissed the palm of it.

"Merry Christmas, my love." He kissed my lips lightly. He then moved on to explore his present.

**MP**

I stood in front of the mirror in Edward's room and turned to the side. I tried to imagine how big I would be in seven months. I found out a couple weeks after Christmas that our celebration led to me getting pregnant. Apparently, I fell into that less 1% chance.

We decided to get married sooner, rather than later, so here I was getting married to Edward on Valentine's Day. We were having a small wedding and reception at Edward's parents. The guest list was under twenty people but that was perfect for us.

"You look beautiful. A picture perfect bride." Alice adjusted my veil.

"Thanks to you. This dress you made is amazing." I fingered the light, white material.

"Silly girl, it's you, not the dress." Alice looked at me through the mirror and gave me a big smile. "Though maybe I should make more wedding dresses for brides at the boutique."  
>Alice had opened a small boutique in Seattle of mostly her designs. Rose was her partner and took care of the business end.<p>

The door opened and Rose slipped in, closing the door behind her.

"Almost all the guests are here. We are just waiting on Emmett to get back with your mom and Phil," she commented.

"I think you should know…." Rose started.

"Not now," Alice interrupted her.

"She should know." Rose gave Alice a pointed look.

"It can wait. She doesn't need additional stress. She's pregnant." Alice insisted.

"Which is exactly why she should know now rather then find out when she gets down there. She should be prepared, not caught off-guard," Rose retorted.

"What should I know? Just tell me, please." I stepped in between their heated exchange.

"Tanya is here. She showed up with her parents," Rose told me.

"Oh." Was the only response I could think of at the moment.

Dealing with that bitch on my wedding day was the last thing I wanted. Why was she even here anyways? Her parents had sent her to Alaska to live with a distant relative and to attend college there.  
>As far as I knew, she had been basically financially cut off from her parents until she could prove that she has grown-up and deserved it.<p>

"If you want me to, I'll have no problem going down there and kicking her out." Rose offered. "I'm not going to let her ruin your wedding day."

"Does Edward know she is here?" I was more concerned about her upsetting him. I could care less what she said to me. I would put the bitch in her place myself.

"Yeah, he knows. He said it was up to you," Rose answered.

"Has she tried to start anything?" I bit my lip.

"No, she hasn't said a word to anyone. She slinked in behind her parents and took a seat near the back." Rose frowned.

"She looks terrible," Alice muttered.

Rose snickered and smirked.

"What do you mean?" I frowned.

"Meaning I think karma caught up to the bitch." Alice grinned slyly.

She and Rose shared a small laugh.

"You know what. Just leave it be. I don't know why she's here, but I'm not going to waste time worrying about her." I grabbed the sapphire necklace Edward gave me for Christmas off the desk. I handed it to Alice who helped me with the clasp.

An hour-an-half later, Edward and I stole a moment outside on the deck just the two of us. We swayed together stealing kisses like that night that didn't seem to long ago. His jacket was even around my shoulders.

He twirled me out and then back in gently. He moved his hand from my hip to my flat stomach.

"How are you both doing? Do you or the baby need anything?" He made a small circle on my stomach.

"We are doing well right now. Just keep me away from chicken, fish and coffee." I wrinkled my nose.

"Well, in about five minute I can introduce you to some cake." He smirked.

We both looked up when the door opened. Tanya stepped out on to the deck. I frowned as Edward tensed. He shifted me slightly behind him.

I watched as she walked closer. She didn't look anything like she did in high school. Her hair was no longer strawberry-blonde and now looked a flat brown. She was, ironically enough, wearing glasses. Her clothes were far from the high fashion she wore in high school.

"Hi, can I talk with you two for a moment." She seemed very subdued.

"I will not have you upsetting Bella," Edward answered sternly, my being pregnant had brought a very protective side out of him.

I would be lying if I didn't say that it turned me on.

"I heard about the baby. Congratulations, the two of you will be great parents. I'm sure your baby will be very smart and very well loved," she sounded honest in her words.

"Just let her say what she needs to. I'm fine." I touched Edward's arm.

He relaxed slightly, but was still looking at Tanya warily.

"Fine, you got less than five minutes before they come looking at us to cut the cake," Edward told her flatly.

"I wanted to apologize to the both of you. To say that I was a horrible person in high school would be underplaying it. I was terrible to the both of you. Especially, to you, Edward. You were my cousin — my family — and I treated you like shit. I can't change what I did, all I can say is that I'm sorry. I know that is not enough after what I have done. But you still deserve to hear those words," Tanya's voice wobbled as she spoke. She looked near tears.

"Why? So you can feel better?" Edward snorted bitterly.

She shook her head sadly. "No, I don't deserve your forgiveness. I'm doing this because it is the right thing to do."

I watched her closely. She seemed sincere in everything she was saying. In fact, she seemed like a completely different person. I wondered what spurred the change.

"Why now?" I asked quietly.

Tanya looked down at her feet. Then back up at me, she sniffled and shook her head. "Because I had a harsh wake-up call. I guess you can say karma caught up with me and did me in." The hurt was evident in her eyes — something that went beyond being exiled to Alaska.

"What happened?" Edward asked.

I touched his arm again. He looked at me and I shook my head.

"You don't need to tell us. I can see that you changed, Tanya. But if you want to make it up to us then get some help, so you can heal and become the better person that you want to be," I asked.

"Thank you." She gave us a weak smile. "I'm sorry if I ruined your day."

"You didn't ruin our day. I'm happy to hear that you are trying to be a better person," Edward told her.

She disappeared back into the house. I hugged Edward and he leaned down and kissed the top of my head.

"What do you think happened?" He seemed slightly curious.

"I don't know, nor do I need to. But I think we should hint to your mom that she needs to talk with her," I commented.

"I agree. Even as horrible as she had been, something seems very wrong." Edward nodded in agreement.

"And that's why you're going to make a wonderful doctor." I kissed him lightly. "Do you know what I really want, right now?" I whispered in his ear.

"You want to start the wedding night." His eyes darkened.

"Cake." I bit my lip.

He chuckled and brought me into the house.

**MP**

**Seven months later….**

I felt as big as a house as the baby was due any day now. I also felt like I was sweltering even in a flimsy sundress. I sat on the couch with my feet up, in front of the air conditioner.

The door opened and Edward came home from work. We moved into a three bedroom house in Port Angeles right after graduation. He was doing his residency at a clinic in Port Angeles. He heard about the opening at the clinic from Garrett who was working there now as a general practitioner.

I wasn't working at the moment at Edward's insistence. It made sense anyways since I would be barely starting a new job two months before the baby was due. I did have a daycare lined up for me to start at when the baby was a little older.

Working at a clinic meant that Edward was home at a decent time every night. He had one late night a week, which only meant eight o'clock, and one Saturday a month. With the rotation of being on-call that meant one night a week and one weekend every six weeks. But being on-call was different than at a hospital. He basically answered phone calls to answer questions of concerned parents or patients. Anything that was deemed an emergency, he directed to the hospital or 911.

"It's freezing in here," he commented. He walked over to adjust the A/C unit.

"Don't you dare? I feel like a furnace. If you're cold put on a sweater, because if I take off any more I'll be walking around naked." I glared at him.

"I don't see how that would be a bad thing." He smirked.

"Trust me, you don't want to see me naked. I look fat and disgusting." I adjusted my position because my back was killing me.

He dropped to his knees next to me and gave me a frown. "If I'm not allowed to call myself a nerd than you are certainly not allowed to refer to yourself as fat and disgusting. You look beautiful pregnant with our child." He caressed the bump lovingly. He gave it a tender kiss before smiling back up at me.

I rolled my eyes and huffed. All of sudden, I had a back spasm and I whimpered in pain. Edward's smile dropped and he looked very concerned.

"Are you okay?" he asked immediately.

"No, my back has been spasming all day. No matter what I do I can't get comfortable," I whined.

"Where is the pain?" he asked, he still had a hand on my bump.

I gave him an irritated look. "I told you my back," I cried out as another spasm hit.

"I know. I meant is it just the back or does it move. Does it warp around to the front?" He traced his hand from my back to my front under the bump.

"I feel it all over. There. My legs. Up the back. Please, give me something to make it stop. Maybe help me with a bath," I begged.

Edward was staring hard at my belly looking deep in thought. One of his hands was behind me rubbing circles on my back.

"Edward," I tugged on his arm.

His worried eyes shot up to mine. "Sorry, Love."

I winced again and dropped my head on the couch.

"Beautiful, forgive me for minute." He lifted up the skirt of my dress and started to bend and move my legs.

"What are you doing?" I shot up when I felt his fingers at my entrance. I was so not in the mood for this. How would this help?

"Checking to see how dilated you are, but I don't have to, because I can feel the head. You're in labor, Love, and I don't think we are going to make it to the hospital. Don't push!" He got up fast and rushed out of the room.

I sat there in shock. How could I be in labor? Contractions were described to be in the front and started off like menstrual cramps. This is not how they described it in birthing class. My water didn't even break.

Edward came rushing back into the room carrying a sheet. He tossed pillows onto the floor then a sheet.

"How can I be this far along? My water didn't break." I was starting to freak out while thankfully he was staying mostly calm.

"Maybe it happened when you went to the bathroom and you didn't notice." He lifted me off the couch and on to the floor.

"Edward?" I started to cry, because I was so scared.

"It's going to be okay. You trust me, right? I have assisted delivering babies when I was a student."

"Of course, I trust you." I sniffled.

"Whoa! You're opening the party with a floor show," Emmett's voice boomed.

My head shot up in confusion. Emmett, Rose, Jasper, and Alice were standing there with balloons, presents, and a cake. I had forgotten it was my birthday.

"Don't just stand there. Bella is having the baby now. Jasper get on the phone and get an ambulance here. Rose, please, boil some water and then sterilize either a large knife or kitchen sheers. Alice, please, go get some towels out of the closet. Emmett, just keep your mouth shut and help support her back," Edward barked out orders and they flew to work.

"Deep breaths, Love. Push for me." Edward directed me. "Stop and breathe. Okay push… Rest."

Next thing I knew Kate was at my side. "You're doing wonderful, Bella." She used a cool damp cloth to wipe my forehead.

It felt like forever, but soon I heard a baby crying.

"It's a girl!" I looked up at Edward's beaming face as he held up our daughter. She crying her head off in his hands covered. I was instantly more in love with her.

"Here, Daddy, bring your little one to her mommy. I can take care of the rest." Garrett took his place.

"She's so beautiful." I kissed her little head when Edward placed her on my chest, not caring she hadn't had a bath yet.

"She's going to look like her beautiful mommy." Edward smile was bigger than I have ever seen it.

"Does she have a name yet?" Alice asked, holding some baby bath soap and a towel as Jasper set the baby bathtub on the floor next to us.

"Everyone meet Shaylynn Elizabeth," I announced as Edward placed a kiss on my forehead.

The paramedics arrived at that time to take us to the hospital.

**A/N:**

**Early posting thanks to my husband (Beta), who was stuck at home due to the blizzard.**

**We are very close to the end, this was never going to be a long story. There is a future take after this. Some of you wanted them to run into Maggie again. That should be up Friday, hopefully. **

**In the original posting for the contest Bella became pregnant after the proposal. I wanted to keep it the same for right now. **

**Tanya has made a change for the better. I left what happened to her vague on purpose, I didn't want her story to take away from their wedding. However, I thought an apology was appropriate from her. I'll hint more to her story in the future take. **

**If you are in New England like me, I hope you're staying warm and safe from the blizzard. **

**Up next: Future take of Edward's 20****th**** high school reunion.**

**Thank You For All Reviews!**

**My story Left Behind is up for top ten fics of the month, please vote.**

**Also check out the May to December Contest. **


	9. Future Shot

**I do not own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.**

**Future shot:**

**(Twelve years later)**

**EPOV**

I stood in front of the doors of my old school gym. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to go in. I didn't really have any friends here at the school that I cared to see again.

But Bella had convinced me to come. Part me was convinced she wanted to find Maggie and rip her a new one. She laughed when I asked her and just shook her head.

We made a family trip out of it. Shaylynn was about to turn twelve. Our sons, Jacob and Seth, were nine and six. My parents came with us and were keeping the kids busy tonight.

"Are you ready?" Bella looked up at me with her adoring eyes.

"I guess. Why am I doing this again?" I sighed.

She straightened my tie and kissed my cheek. "You're showing them that you grew up to be a successful doctor that owns his own practice and has a loving family."

"So that they know that I'm no longer a pathetic nerd." I surmised.

She glared heatedly at me. "You were never a pathetic nerd. Don't call yourself that," she hissed.

I had to admit that I did that because of how sexy she looked all wound up. "Yes, ma'am. Just promise me you're not going to get into any cat fights defending my honor. You're carrying precious cargo." I placed my hand on her small bump.

Yup, baby number four. Convincing Bella of having more wasn't too hard. After Seth started school, she decided she wanted one more.

She huffed. "Of course not. I would never get into a cat fight." She gave me an innocent smile. It was too innocent.

"Bella," I warned.

"Come on. I want to dance with my husband. I don't get to often enough." Bella pulled me through a door.

"Yes, ma'am." I sighed and followed her in.

We stopped at the table to check-in. I vaguely recognized them from the student council when I was here.

"Edward Cullen," I told them when the guy and the girl sitting there gave me blank looks.

The guy, Alec, found my name tag and glanced at the picture. "Dude, bad picture." My jaw ticked slightly.

"And you?" The girl, Jane, looked at Bella. She looked Bella up and down and frowned slightly when she saw the baby bump.

She smiled widely. "I'm his wife," she announced proudly, flashing her ring before she placed it over the bump and flashed the girl a look.

"Here, just place your name on the tag." Sarah handed her a blank name tag.

Bella bent over slightly to write on the tag.

"Congrats, man." Alec wiggled his eyebrow and stared at my wife's ass.

I rolled my eyes at him. Bella stood up and placed the tag on.

"Is it straight?" she asked.

I let out a chuckle when I read what she wrote. 'Mrs. Dr. Edward Cullen'

"It's perfect, Love." I placed a hand on the small of her back and led her into the gym.

The gym was decorated with crepe paper and balloons in the school colors. There were a few boards of pictures of my classmates in high school. I doubted if I was in any of them.

Bella sensing my reluctance went past them and found a table where we placed our coats.

I did a quick glance around the room and recognized a few faces. My eyes fell on Bella who was looking around with curiosity. The black dress she had accentuated her baby bump and the rest of her curves. She was as beautiful as the day I met her in Biology class.

_I entered the class. It was already about half-full. I walked up to the teacher at the front of the class. _

"_Mr. Cullen, welcome to AP Biology. You may take a seat with Miss Swan. Last row, middle." He handed me a small stack of things for the class. _

_I turned and noticed the unwelcome stares of most of the classmates. I headed to the table he pointed out. There was a small brunette already sitting, engrossed in reading what looked like a lab handout. She had her books spread out on the table that we were supposed to share._

"_Excuse me, please?" I said softly._

_Her head shot up in confusion, she looked at me and gave me my first friendly smile of the day. Immediately, I was captivated by her warm brown eyes. _

"_I'm sorry, I didn't realize we had a new student in class." She started sliding her stuff over and reorganizing her things._

"_That's okay." I shrugged. _

"_Hi, I'm Bella Swan. I guess you will be stuck with me as lab partner." She smiled and extended her hand. _

"_E…Anthony Cullen." I shook her hand. _

_A buzz of electricity rippled up my arm, surprising me. I felt drawn to this beautiful girl in front of me. I could already tell she was different from the others around here. At the same time, I was wary given my past with the last very friendly girl. But something told me it wasn't the same. She wouldn't have gotten into an AP class if she wasn't an intelligent student. _

_She was looking at me expectantly, and I realized I missed what she said._

"_I'm sorry, what was that?" I asked nervously._

_She had thrown me completely off-guard. I wasn't used to someone being so friendly._

"_I asked if you were related to Tanya Cullen?" she repeated._

"_Yeah, she's my cousin," I admitted._

"_Must be nice knowing someone here already," she commented lightly. _

"_Actually, I don't know her all that well. We don't exactly get along." I grimaced, thinking about the fit she threw the other night when her parents asked her to show me around._

_Bella paused for a minute and her smile faltered. "No, I suppose not." _

_I wanted to ask what she meant, but she turned from me slightly. She glanced around the room and bit on her lower lip. She shook her head and looked back at me._

"_The staring will stop in about a week. I should know, I was the new kid back in September. Apparently, this town doesn't get many newcomers so we are like shiny objects to them." She grinned at me._

_I felt myself smile back at her. "Thank you, I hope you're right." _

"_You're welcome. And if you need any help or have questions, or anything just let me know. I'll be happy to help you," Bella informed me. _

"_I will, thank you." I felt something flutter in my chest. My rational mind told me to forget about it. I was only here for couple of weeks, and to hope for anything more would be stupid._

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Bella was looking at me with one eyebrow raised and an amused smile.

"Just thinking about how beautiful you were when we first met and that you're even more beautiful today," I told her shyly.

She blushed and kissed my cheek. "You're very sweet."

"I still wish we were at high school together. You would've been a bright spot to the dreary experience." I wrapped one arm around her waist.

"I'm sorry you had a hard time. But I kind of like how we met. It will make a great story for the grandkids one day." She grinned.

"No one is dancing yet. Do you want to wait? We can see if they have any cake?" I offered.

"I wouldn't pass up the chance for cake?" She licked her lips and rubbed her bump tenderly.

I took her hand in mine and laced our fingers together. We headed to the area set up for refreshments were there was no cake but there was some cupcakes.

"Hey, I think I remember you? You were on the basketball team, right?"  
>I looked up to see a guy I recognized that had been on the football team. Only his hair was thinner and he now had a beer gut.<p>

Beside him was another guy I recognized also from the football team. He was severally overweight now. His tie was undone and he was sweating even though it wasn't that hot in the room.

Both of them were my main tormentors in school. To say I wasn't happy to see them was an understatement.

"No, sorry I didn't play basketball." I answered him with a forced smile.

"See, I told ya, Randall. You played first base on the Varsity baseball team, am I right?" Steven responded.

"Again, no." I shook my head. "I was on the chess team."

"We had a chess team?" Randall frowned.

"Yeah, remember that…" Steven trailed off as he paled. He glanced down at my name tag and blanched.

"Steve? What should I remember?" Randall looked at his friend. He followed his gaze to my name tag.

"Oh…" Randall seemed to figure it out. His face flushed, and he looked embarrassed.

They exchanged a look, and both of them looked very guilty.  
>"Wow…I didn't think we would see you again." Steven mumbled, pulling at his collar and looking uncomfortable.<p>

"Why wouldn't he be here? He has every right to be here as you," Bella spoke up from my side glaring at them.

Both shrugged and shifted in their spot.

"If you would excuse us." I started to pull Bella away from them.

"Edward, wait a minute," Randall called out.

I turned but remained silent.

"I know I speak for Steve as well as myself when I say that we owe you a huge apology for things we did to you in high school. We were jerks. At the time, we thought we were being cool. But now watching our kids go through school and seeing news of the high school shootings — well it has been a wakeup call to how horrible we were then. We are sorry for all the shit we put you through," Randall explained sheepishly.

"I appreciate your apology, thank you," I said graciously.

Bella squeezed my hand and smile up at me. I kissed her forehead and started to guide her back to our seats.

"Dude, did you see his wife? She's hot. Doesn't it figure that when were jocks, we got the girls and the nerds didn't. Now the nerds get the girls 'cause they are all successful and shit, and we are left with no one," Steven scoffed.

I stiffened and clenched my jaw. Apparently, he hasn't changed all that much.

"Shut up," Randall hissed back at him.

Bella turned and glared at Steven. "Or perhaps, you are alone because you're a pig."

She turned and stalked off to our table with me following behind her with a small grin. She was still gorgeous when she was pissed off and trying to protect me.

We ate our treats silently. I listened around me to the others commenting on how smart and talented that their kids were. I don't know why it was bothering me so much. But most of them were the same kids that made my life hell for being a smart student and now I was hearing them brag about it.

I rubbed my forehead and sighed heavily. Bella looked at me with worry in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked, placing her hand over mine.

"No. I need to get out of here for a moment," I admitted.

"Okay, how about giving me a tour of the school? They said we could explore the school," she suggested.

"Sure." I stood up and held out my hand to her.

I helped her to her feet and led her to the doors. We walked through the hallway hand in hand.

"Have they changed much since you've been here?" Bella asked.

"Some of it. Mostly a new paint job to everything and looks like they upgraded the technology some," I answered blandly.

"Should we find an empty classroom or janitor's closet and fool around?" She giggled and swung our hands.

"I don't think so, Love. One, the classrooms are probably locked, and I'm not fooling around with you in some dirty closet," I answered.

She sighed, but didn't say anything.

She stopped in front of a case that housed awards. I hung back because it held little interest to me.  
>"There you are," she exclaimed excitedly. She took a picture of something through the glass. Then a second one without a flash.<p>

I looked through to see my name on a plaque for being Valedictorian.

"The kids will love to see this." She kissed my cheek.

I rolled my eyes and looked down the hall.

"What? They are going to be proud that their daddy is so smart and got an award in school for it." Bella frowned and looked slightly irritated.

"Want to take a picture of the lockers I was shoved into too? How about the toilet my head was shoved in or will the bathroom door suffice?" I snapped.

"What is your problem? You don't have to take it out on me." She looked upset.

"Why not? You're the one who dragged me here. I didn't want to come. Now I have to relive a past I'd rather forget and people who treated me like shit and forgive them as if it was water under the bridge. So I'm so sorry that I can't be thrilled to be here," I ranted.

Bella looked at me with tears in her eyes as if I had slapped her. I felt instantly like a jackass. She turned and walked away.

"Love, I'm…" I raced after her.

I reached for her, but she yanked her arm away from me. She entered the women's bathroom leaving me in the hall.

"Fuck!" I yanked on my hair.

I leaned on the wall across from the door and waited for her. I debated going in after her, but that would probably just piss her off.

I'm not sure, how long I was out there waiting, but I looked up at the clicking of heels in the hallway. Maggie was heading towards me with a huge smile on her face.

As if things couldn't have gotten worse. _Double Fuck!_

"Eddie, is that you?" Her voice squealed, sounding like nails on a chalkboard.

I didn't answer her and rethought about going in after Bella. Problem was, Maggie could just follow.

"Oh my gosh. It is you," she squealed.

She stepped into my line of vision. She was still pencil thin — too thin. She was wearing a short red dress with her blond hair down.

She waited for me to say something and scowled when I didn't. "Don't you recognize me, silly? It's me, Maggie Jamerson. You used to tutor me?" She patted her hand to her chest and fluttered her eyelashes at me.

"I know who you are. If you excuse me, I'm waiting for someone." I gave her a curt nod.

"Oh, you're not still upset about all that, are you." She pouted at me.

I stayed firm on ignoring her.

"Aww, come on. I can make it up to you. Why don't you come back to my place tonight?" She reached out and touched my arm.

I pulled away and shook my head. "I don't think so. I'm a very happily married man."

"What? What she doesn't know won't hurt her. I heard that you were a doctor now. You can give me a check-up," she purred.

She suddenly was hip-checked out of the way; she stumbled but regained her balance. Bella wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me into a heated kiss. Her tongue slipped into my mouth and entwined with mine.  
>I forgot that we were in the middle of the hallway, and I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her tight to me. She moaned into my mouth, and immediately my body came aroused.<p>

"Excuse me?" I heard a foot stamp and irritated voice snap.

Bella pulled away. "Opps, I guess we got carried away, again." She smirked, but there was still a tinge of sadness in her eyes. She ran her thumb over my lip to wipe away her lipstick.

"And you are?" Maggie huffed, her eyes flared in anger.

Bella plastered a huge smile on her face as she turned to face her. "I'm Edward's wife, Bella." She ran her hand protectively over her baby bump. "This would be our sweet Baby Cullen number four. I would give you a name, but it's still too early to know the gender. I'm thinking it's a little girl, like our oldest. But we will find out in about another two weeks," Bella explained sweetly.

"How quaint. I'm…" Maggie started but was quickly cutoff.

"I know who you are. You're the bitch that used and abused my sweet husband's kindness and intelligence for your own benefit in high school. Then had the audacity to try and get him to cheat on me with your skanky ass," Bella's voice was cold and hard.

"I think you're just jealous, because you're afraid he would cheat on your fat ass," Maggie sneered.

I went to interject, but Bella beat me to it.

She scoffed and tossed Maggie a smirk. "Nice try, but your shit doesn't fly with me. You can try to insult me until you're blue in the face but I know the truth." Bella's smile was cold. "My husband loves me and would never cheat on me. Especially with someone who is as worthless as you. Go crawl back to whatever street corner you work at, because you are wasting your time here."

"Are you going to let her talk to me like that?" Maggie looked at me outraged.

"She couldn't have said it better," I answered. I pulled my angel to my side and placed a hand over our child.

Maggie turned and stormed off. We watched her silently until she was out of sight.

Bella turned to me and looked up — her expression was heartbreaking. Tears welled in her eyes, and she chewed on her lower lip like she did when she was anxious.

"Edward, I'm sorry if I dragged you into this. I was hoping if you saw these people again you could get some closure. Especially, if you saw them all grown-up and out of their immature phase. Look at how Tanya has changed. Plus, maybe it was to show them how successful you are and how far you've come. That you're not that boy that they pushed around anymore. That you've become a strong man." Her eyelashes fluttered as she blinked back tears.

She did have a good point. Tanya has done a complete 180 since high school, after being gang raped at a fraternity when she was attending a party. She was now a soft spoken woman and worked at a woman's crisis center. She has been with her partner, Leah, for about five years now.  
>"Beautiful, you don't owe me an apology. I owe you one. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. Just old feeling resurfaced. I know you meant well. And you're right, most to these people seemed to have grown up some." I brushed her lower lip out of her mouth with my finger.<p>

"I was listening to them in there. The same people that picked on me for good grades were trying to be boastful of their own kid's grades." I shook my head. "It just seems too hypercritical."

"But what bugs me the most, and it has for longer than tonight, is how worried I am about Seth. He is just like I was at his age. He's smarter than his peers and they want him to skip grades. And while I'm happy that he is so smart — its scares me. I worry that he's going to get bullied, too. I don't want him to go through the shit I had to," I exhaled loudly.

Bella gave me a sympathetic smile as she played with my tie. "Seth will be okay. With our support and love, we can get him through it. If we see warning signs, we will get it taken care of right away. Schools have become stricter when it comes to bullying since we've been in school. Plus, you know how protective Jacob is of Seth. Jacob will defend him at every turn. So would Shaylynn, even though Jacob is our fighter." Bella was able to elevate some of my concerns.

"I've been talking to Emmett a bit too. His gym offers martial arts for kids starting at Seth's age. I think it would be good for him to build up his self-esteem, and he would be able to defend himself," she suggested.

"I like the sound of that," I agreed.

Emmett had helped me long ago, and I have been forever grateful for him.  
>"I think we should enroll Jacob, too. Maybe, it will teach him some discipline, so he's not fighting all the time. He too much of a spitfire like his mom." I smirked.<p>

"I've never been in a fight, thank you very much." Her eyes narrowed.

"No, but you're very passionate and protective." I smiled warmly. "Want to get out of here?"

"I'd love to. We can make good use of having the hotel room to ourselves." Bella smiled back. "But first, you owe me at least one dance."

I wrapped my arm around her and guided her back to the gym and to the dance floor just in time for a slow song. We danced slowly together, and she rested her head against my shoulder with her eyes closed.

There was a crash and a loud commotion back by the tables.

"I think he's having a heart attack."

"Someone call 911."

"Is anyone here a doctor?"

Bella gently pushed me in the direction of the voices. I found Steven on the floor clutching his chest. Randall was kneeling next to him looking worried.

"Edward, please help him." He looked up at me.

I knelt beside them and took Steven's pulse.

"Does anyone have any aspirin?" I called out.

A bunch of the women started digging through their purses.

"I'll go check the nurse's office." A guy ran off in a hurry.

"Steven, I need to you try to remain calm. Help is on the way." I calmly told him. "I'm going to loosen your tie and I want you to lie back and take some deep calming breaths for me.

"I got some aspirin. I also grabbed the defibrillator and a CPR mask." The guy came rushing back.

"Defibrillator? Are you going to shock him?" Randall exclaimed.

Steven's eyes widened in panic and he grasped my arm tightly.

"No. I don't need that right now. But it is good to have it as a precaution."  
>I grabbed the bottle of aspirin and helped Steven sit up slightly.<p>

"I need you take these." I looked around to ask for water. Bella was right next to me, and she silently handed me the bottle.  
>He drank the water sloppily, but he got the medicine down. At that time, the paramedics arrived. I stepped back so they could take over and told them what I had done so far.<p>

Bella hugged my side as we watched Steven being taken out of the gym. Slowly, the rest started to spread out gossiping about what happened.

"Thank you for your help." I told my classmate.

He looked up and nodded. "I was glad to, I guess it's a good thing I work at the school now and had access to the stuff, though I'm glad you didn't need them. Good thing you were here though."

I recognized him as Liam. He was Maggie's boyfriend in high school. I nodded uncomfortably, Bella noticed the changed and gave me a worried look. Liam noticed too and he frowned slightly.

"Edward, for what it's worth, I had no clue that Maggie was using you like she did back then. She said you were tutoring her, but I wasn't aware how she was treating you. If I had known, I would've put a stop to it. In fact, I broke up with her at prom when I overheard her and her friends laughing about it." He gave me a regretful look.

We were never friends but he was never the one to tease me in high school. He did often pull his friends off me at times and told them to leave me alone.

"I believe you." I smiled.

"This is my wife, Bella. Bella this is Liam." I introduced them.

"Pleased to meet you." Bella smiled genuinely.

"You too. You're a lucky guy, Edward," Liam said. "Watch out for Maggie. She's around here somewhere. Her last sugar daddy kicked her to the curb, and she's looking for someone new. Rumor has it, she's gunning for you. I think she thinks she can get away with what she did all those years ago, again," he warned me.

"Thank you for the warning, but we already took care Maggie. I doubt she will be bothering us again." Bella smirked.

Liam chuckled and gave a short wave as he headed off with the stuff to put it back in the nurse's office.

"Shall we leave," I asked.

"Lets. It's going to be a busy day to tomorrow. You promised Seth we could go to some of the museums while we are here." She suddenly looked tired.

**MP**

We entered our room to find it dimly lit. Someone, or someones, had pushed the small breakfast table to the window that looked over the city. On the table was a small chocolate cake and above the table hung a small kissing ball.

"Aww… how sweet. Did you do this?" Bella looked up at me.

"It's July, why would I hang Christmas decorations." I shook my head.

Bella rolled her eyes and picked up the card from the table.

"It's from the kids. They are sweethearts," Bella gushed.

She placed the card down and wiped her fingers over the frosting and stuck it her mouth. She licked her finger clean with her tongue.

"Hey, you have to share that, you know." I teased.

"I will…with the baby." Bella gave me an impish grin.

She picked up a fork that was lying on the table and stuck it into the cake. She lifted up a decent sized piece to her mouth. I grabbed her wrist playfully and guided it to my own mouth. Her jaw dropped in shock.

"I can't believe that you just stole from me and a baby," she huffed, but her eyes sparkled with amusement.

I took the fork from her and filled it with a bite. I raised it to her lips. She opened her mouth, and I placed it in. She sucked on the fork a moment longer than necessary while keeping eye contact with me.

I pulled out the chair for her to sit on then handing her the fork. I sat in the opposite chair and lifted her feet onto my lap. I pulled off her shoes and massaged her feet. She closed her eyes and moaned.

She alternated feeding herself then me bites of cake.

"Shall I pour you some milk to go with that?" I offered, spying a bottle of milk that was in a bucket of ice set on the table.

"Please." She nodded, sliding her glass towards me.

I grabbed the bottle, wiping off of moisture with a napkin, before opening it then pouring two glasses.

I handed her one, she took it with one hand while using her other hand to wipe some chocolate from the corner of my mouth. She brought her thumb to her mouth and she licked of the chocolate.

I shifted in my seat as I watched her. She smiled seductively before taking a sip of her milk.

"I think, I'm ready for bed now." She bit her lip.

I placed my glass down and stood up. I helped her to her feet. She went to move to the bed, but I placed a hand on her hips stopping her.

"I have to do one more thing first," I explained.

She remained silent but gave me a questioning look. I pointed up to the kissing ball.

"I need to kiss you." I grinned, leaning down to kiss her.

Her hands came up and threaded through my hair pulling my face closer. Swiftly without breaking the kiss, I swooped her up into my arms.

She broke the kiss. "Edward, careful, I'm too heavy."  
>I narrowed my eyes playfully. "Are you calling me a weakling?"<p>

"Never," she stated with conviction.

"Good, then I'm bringing you to bed to make love to you, until you're so tired you pass out." I grinned and carried her to our bedroom in the suite — kicking the door closed behind us.

**The End**

**A/N: Thank you for reading and also review my story. Also, thank you for the well wishes about the stormy weather. We got over two feet but thankfully, we never lost power. **

**Up next, I'm pretty sure I'm going back to vampward. Just trying to work out a storyline. Not sure when I will start posting, life has been a bit crazy lately. I may also write at least an additional chapter to my May to December entry. **


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